It’s that time of year again folks (can you believe it?) and I assume many of us are now knee (neck??) deep into their preparations for the fast-approaching ‘silly season’.

We’re making our lists (and checking them twice) . . .  and then we’re re-writing those lists (at least four times) because the dog ate the first one and the second went astray somewhere . . . and then we had to make absolutely-positively-and-for-sure nothing whatsoever was left off . . . and then we had to do it all over again to make sure it was colour-coded in order of priority . . .  We even delegated some of the jobs to friends and family (why shouldn’t they get to join in the fun?)—before waking up in a cold sweat at 2.00am the next morning to the perfect certainty that none of those jobs were ever going to get done unless we did them all ourselves . . .

And the party lights and sparkly decorations and (slightly worn and wonky) Christmas tree need to go up, like, right now! (preferably out of reach of next door’s cat . . . ) but we’re not quite sure where they are.  We know we packed them all away safely last year but they’re not quite where we remembered they’d be.  Maybe they got moved into the garage?

And the food!  Oh good grief—the food!  All the food needs to be organised and prepared—and taste tested (can’t possibly be anything other than fabulous for the visitors.  OMG the visitors!  Did we all add ‘scour the house’ to our lists??)

And then, of course, there are still those pesky gifts to be sorted out . . .

Okay—I’m teasing.  Well, sort of.  I admit I don’t spend a lot of time or energy in preparation for Christmas.  I make one list and then it’s done.  I haven’t put up a Christmas tree in years (although I do have a rather cool tin Santa which sits on my dining room table) and decorating the house itself and then leaving the dogs alone in it seems to be just asking for trouble.  Nor do I cook—but if you have been following my blog at all over the last few years you already knew that!

But I do like to shop and I do love to buy presents for friends and family so there’s every reason to celebrate right there.  And I know Christmas is supposed to be all about giving rather than receiving and I’m all for that . . . but, you know,  I reckon if I am out and about looking for that one last perfect gift to finally cross everything off my list and I just happen to come across a pair of shoes that would go perfectly with my new blue dress . . . or some spunky new cushions for my living room . . .  or those new paints I saw on-line . . .  well . . .  I can’t see that it wouldn’t be so very bad to treat myself to a little something too. 

Would it?

(The wanna-be minimalist inside of me spends a lot of time sobbing in a corner at this time of year.
Never mind.  She’ll get over it . . . )