I'm so happy to be filming videos again.

Christmas is just around the corner, meaning it's very, very soon.

So of course I've got my Christmas earrings on and of course sparkly bows.

Christmas is a kind of sparkly time of year.

The Christmas decorations are sparkling, the candlelight is kind of sparkling, people wear sparkly jumpers and jewellery.

So today's video is going to make your English sparkle.

I'm going to give you some lovely expressions that will just make your speaking a little bit special.

I can't wait to show you them, so let's just get started.

So here we go.

Number one, to have a change of scene.

What do you think this means?

You know when you've been doing the same thing every day and sticking to the same daily routine, sometimes you just need a change of scene.

And this means a change of environment, going on holiday somewhere nice, just getting away for a couple of days.

Every February I like to have a change of scene.

I like to go away for a couple of nights, or maybe even a week, after staying at home for most of December and January, because of course December is Christmastime and I like being at home.

And January, well, everyone's sort of hunkering down, it's winter, it's cold.

Having a change of scene can be really good for your mental health, because removing yourself from your daily life can really help to give you a new perspective on things.

Maybe you need to review how your life is and what you'd like to change.

So make sure you have a change of scene if you need it.

Number two, to have a cold spell.

To have a cold spell.

I love this expression because it involves spells, and it makes me think of magic and fairies.

So what this means is to have a temporary period of very cold weather.

It kind of just comes out of the blue, which means comes out of nowhere.

Now as you probably know, British weather is very unpredictable, which is why it's often talked about in small talk, because it is a constant source of intrigue.

When we were away on our honeymoon in Ireland, we had a really cold spell.

It just suddenly got freezing.

And while we were away, because of this cold spell, some mice decided to move in to our house.

So cute, honestly, they're field mice.

So they're not like horrible city mice, but still not really ideal.

I mean, if I was a mouse, I would definitely move in here.

It's very cosy, and it was empty for two weeks because we were away for that long.

So I'm sure they were very happy here.

After a cold spell, generally the weather gets milder and starts to warm up.

Because a cold spell is only temporary, thank goodness.

Number three, skeletons in the closet.

Skeletons in the closet.

This one is about secrets.

If you have skeletons in the closet, or your family has skeletons in the closet, it means they have dark secrets.

Things that they'd rather people didn't know.

And if the secrets did come out, it would maybe be a bit damaging to their reputation, or be a bit embarrassing.

So you can say, I reckon that family has many skeletons in the closet.

Many secrets they're keeping.

What about you?

Do you have any skeletons in the closet?

I won't tell anyone.

Number four, to dig deep.

To dig deep.

This idiom is about resilience.

Trying really hard when things get tough.

If you dig deep, you have to find the strength to carry on.

Maybe you're going through a difficult time, maybe you're trying to complete a difficult task, and you just need to dig deep to get to the end of it.

In the lead up to my wedding, things got a bit chaotic.

And I really had to dig deep in the days leading up to the wedding, just to stay calm and focused.

In the end I had the best day ever, so of course it was all worth it.

Number five, to the moon and back.

To the moon and back.

This is an idiom about love, when you want to express your love for someone in the strongest way possible.

I love you to the moon and back.

Imagine the journey it takes to go all the way to the moon and back.

That's how you're measuring your love for someone.

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love big declarations of love.

Some people think it's kind of cheesy or cringe, but I think it's so romantic.

We only live once, guys, so why not tell the person you love that you really love them?

You could also express this love to a very good friend.

Friendship is so important.

I feel like sometimes we forget that.

In the age we're living in now, it's all about the individual and how to be more independent, but we can never forget the value of friendship.

Number six, time is of the essence.

Time is of the essence.

If you say time is of the essence, it means it's important to act quickly.

We don't have much time, we must act now.

Very often in British English, we use an expression to say something quite strong.

What it does is it softens it slightly so that it's less direct.

So when you want someone to really hurry up, instead of saying, come on, hurry up, we're running out of time, you can just say, time is of the essence.

And that person will get the hint, hopefully, that you haven't got much time, let's go.

Number seven, waste not, want not.

Waste not, want not.

This is a good one for practising your T's on the end of words.

Waste not, want not.

Lots of t, t.

And that sound is essential if you want a British accent.

So what does it mean?

If you say, waste not, want not, often in that voice, actually, it means, let's not waste this.

This is often related to cooking.

If you cook a meal and then you say, waste not, want not, it means, let's not waste any of it.

If there are leftovers, let's keep them and use them for something else.

My granny grew up in a war and they had to ration everything.

And so she always used to say this, which is probably why I love the expression.

My granny used to wash her hands using a bar of soap.

And when she had nearly finished her bar of soap, she just had a little bit left and she used to stick it to the next bar of soap, just so that no soap was wasted.

And she used to say, waste not, want not, as she did it.

I remember her saying that.

We live in a world of consumption now, don't we?

Everyone is consuming, consuming, consuming.

It's nice not to waste things if we can help it.

Number eight, the final expression.

Done and dusted.

Done and dusted.

Now that's actually the way we pronounce that.

When you see the expression, it looks like done and dusted.

But in speech, we say it slightly differently.

So, done and dusted.

So, we're removing the D on the end of and to make it smoother and sound nicer.

Done and dusted.

When something is done and dusted, it means it is complete.

The task, or whatever it is, has been completed.

And you have that lovely, satisfying feeling when you've finished something.

Especially if that task has taken a long time or required a lot of effort.

For example, after two and a half months of work, the project is finally done and dusted.

We can all move on.

Well, everyone, I hope you enjoyed that.

I'm wishing you all a wonderful Christmas.

I hope it's full of love and sparkle.

Thank you so much for all your support this year.

Thank you for sticking with me when I was away on my honeymoon and when I was getting married.

I really appreciate that, honestly.

See you in the new year.

Bye.