Phew!
I did it, we all did it! We shopped and wrapped, we prepared and we cooked and we pulled off all of the other 101 other things we have to do at Christmas time with our usual style. Personally I’m not one who gets stressed out by Christmas, quite the opposite in fact I refer to myself as something of a Christmas fairy and from the second week in December my house looks like a tastefully decorated grotto.
I look forward to the Xmas fayres, as busy as they are, the school plays (Taylor was an incredibly cute reindeer this year), the local events such as Santa (via Thirsk Rotary) visiting the local streets and of course the local Christmas Lights Switch On event (which this year was covered by Channel 5 and had our own Yorkshire Vets were in attendance).
As much as I love the run up to Christmas and all it entails I have to admit to breathing something of a sigh of relief when it is all over. From 5pm on Christmas Eve what hasn’t been done isn’t worth worrying about. We present the boys with Christmas Eve boxes and soon-after they are off to bed. Christmas morning (obscenely early and usually started off by an impatient me) we are all up and we have a fabulous morning together, just the four of us.
Around 10.30am we (us and all the siblings with their familie) troop a few streets from all directions to Mum & Dad’s house where we exchange gifts and after a giggle, photos, a brew and much laughter we all go home. And we stay there for as long as possible!
We stay in our PJs, the boys play with their toys, we eat, we watch TV and we just relax. Now, I don’t know how it works in your house but the majority of the Xmas preparation falls on my shoulders. I’m not complaining as Roy works right up until Xmas (and often does 12hr days at this time of year). That said, I take it upon myself to treat myself come Boxing Day / after Xmas as I believe I deserve it!
Shopping for myself is not something I do often as I can always find something else to spend money on than myself however with sales on and in particular the Dorothy Perkins sale this year I can bag myself some treats without the guilt. It’s part of the Christmas tradition for me in a way, a little shopping just for me which is a rare occurrence, despite the husband encouraging me to do it more often!
What do you do over Xmas and the days leading up New Year? Do you have the same sense of calm? Do you enjoy the sales like I do? Is this the time you visit family? I’d love to hear!
