5 weeks til Christmas....
This weekend was good, and busy. We were out and about, doing things and catching up with family… and also, doing something I despise - Christmas Shopping.
Normally by the end of November I am going into a decline as I try to come up with ideas for what to buy people, and then have to find the money to do it with.
I hate it. I hate that nobody really wants ANYTHING, because if they did, they already bought it months ago; I hate that the shops are filled to bursting with Stuff You Didn’t Know You Needed - gift-wrapped crap, that is expensive and pointless but that looks great and entices you in; I hate that I have to listen to goddamn awful Christmas songs from mid-October that make me want to poke myself in the eyes with a sharp stick, and I hate that Christmas is rammed down our throats by marketing ploys that drive me NUTS.
So this year instead of going mad, buying loads of gifts for people, and wracking my brains to get them something imaginative or unusual, I have done something radically crazy - I actually asked what they wanted, and have stuck to The Plan. Also, lowbrid and I made an executive decision not to buy each other anything, which is a BIG help.
Every year we spend far too much money on things that neither of us really need, and this year I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted… so I asked for nothing! We want to go away somewhere in early 2009 so decided that money was the best way to achieve this.
So without the added stress of trying to find things for the worst person in the world to buy presents for, it means that this year, as at 18th November, I have almost finished my Christmas shopping. Yippeeee!
I feel calm and in control (for once). I even have my Christmas cards, and a list, ready to write. I am able to spend Christmas Day with my parents, for the first time in about 4 years, and although that will no doubt be fraught with stress, I am looking forward to it. My mum does the best Christmas Dinner EVER - and it will be nice to be with my family. It’s also much easier to buy for them, as I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get the presents to them in time. Having them close does have some advantages after all!
So I’m thinking Christmas might just be NICE this year. No stress. No hassles. Just time for me to dig out the decorations, light the house up like a faerie grotto and get into the festive spirit.
Also, I have two weeks (minus the one day I offered to work) leave to look forward to, AND a holiday in the New Year.
All I have to do is make sure I don’t fall down the stairs or otherwise disable myself. Wish me luck!
Normally by the end of November I am going into a decline as I try to come up with ideas for what to buy people, and then have to find the money to do it with.
I hate it. I hate that nobody really wants ANYTHING, because if they did, they already bought it months ago; I hate that the shops are filled to bursting with Stuff You Didn’t Know You Needed - gift-wrapped crap, that is expensive and pointless but that looks great and entices you in; I hate that I have to listen to goddamn awful Christmas songs from mid-October that make me want to poke myself in the eyes with a sharp stick, and I hate that Christmas is rammed down our throats by marketing ploys that drive me NUTS.
So this year instead of going mad, buying loads of gifts for people, and wracking my brains to get them something imaginative or unusual, I have done something radically crazy - I actually asked what they wanted, and have stuck to The Plan. Also, lowbrid and I made an executive decision not to buy each other anything, which is a BIG help.
Every year we spend far too much money on things that neither of us really need, and this year I couldn’t think of anything that I wanted… so I asked for nothing! We want to go away somewhere in early 2009 so decided that money was the best way to achieve this.
So without the added stress of trying to find things for the worst person in the world to buy presents for, it means that this year, as at 18th November, I have almost finished my Christmas shopping. Yippeeee!
I feel calm and in control (for once). I even have my Christmas cards, and a list, ready to write. I am able to spend Christmas Day with my parents, for the first time in about 4 years, and although that will no doubt be fraught with stress, I am looking forward to it. My mum does the best Christmas Dinner EVER - and it will be nice to be with my family. It’s also much easier to buy for them, as I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get the presents to them in time. Having them close does have some advantages after all!
So I’m thinking Christmas might just be NICE this year. No stress. No hassles. Just time for me to dig out the decorations, light the house up like a faerie grotto and get into the festive spirit.
Also, I have two weeks (minus the one day I offered to work) leave to look forward to, AND a holiday in the New Year.
All I have to do is make sure I don’t fall down the stairs or otherwise disable myself. Wish me luck!