It has finally hit me that Christmas really is on its way - not just because I'm a Celebrity is nearing it's conclusion and I have to add Advent Calenders to my list of things that I have forgotten to buy, but because everyone else is busy worrying and I'm not.
I'm usually quite blase (rubbish) about Christmas shopping, thinking that it will all sort itself out, but of course it doesn't and I am usually left buying extra things two days before Christmas, because the things that I bought earlier are really not going to cut it. It's all very well being in the "I'm a supporter of the true meaning of Christmas and that one should send good joy instead of piles of plastic" camp, but that means very little when you receive a beautiful hat and glove set and give back a hedgehog that you found nearly perfect on the side of the road.
Also, being a little bit older than I was means that I now don't come in the "oh, don't worry, she's young and busy and has so many more exciting things to think about" category. Now I'm in the "she's a tight old bu**er that one and is trying to wait for the sales and it's not fair as I actually bought her / her family something quite nice" one and it's not such a good place to be.
However, I also have to acknowledge that it is quite common for me to think this way at this time of December, but it still doesn't mean that I will do anything about it.
The upside of Christmas coming is that my Mum passed my Dad the first mince pie of the season the other day and as he was telling some longwinded Christmas story and wasn't concentrating, the dog sneaked a lick of it as it went past. Well, it may have lost its sugar, but at least it had a lovely glaze...
Lorraine.
Lorraine Jenkin is an author, journalist and blogger.
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