Sunday 7 December 2008

Ho Ho Ho

Every year I don't want to think about Christmas till December and then every year around the first week in December I realise why everyone else starts in October, beacause it takes so much feckin time !!!!!

I have not started my Christmas shopping yet, today is the day I am going to venture into town and accomplish the buying of all the gifts that are on my as yet unwritten list. This will include all the stocking fillers that my 3 beloved and bigger than me children still expect.

I will also have to buy the Crabtree and Evelyn Noel candles, room spray and oil (that you put on top of a wee metal ring on your light bulb and it diffuses the scent) I will also have to buy old fashioned not very eco friendly light bulbs to put the ring on. I also need Whittards special Christmas hot chocolate powder (£5 per tin last about a week so need 4 to see the girls through to New year) I also need some new tree lights, wrapping paper, tape and Christmas cards as I have actually managed to post any for the last 2 years, if you saw me you got one if you didn't, sorry !

After I accomplish these tasks, which should take about an hour or so, purchasing gifts and such for all my 3 and my extended family, I shall stop and have a leisurely Christmas coffee in Starbucks, where I haven't been since the red cups came out as it will be empty 2 weeks before Christmas and I'll have the place to myself, ditto the parking, it'll be a breeze to pop in and get a place less than 10 miles from where I want to go.

On my return I will retrieve the tree and decorations from the attic and I will spend many hours assembling and decorating the tree and in a spirit of joyfullness and gladness to all my offspring who would care to help me. Not once will I mention that they are making the tree look like a tinkers dog. I like my tree to have clear lights and 1 colour of decs usually gold, my children favour a more colourful approach.

This should take me till around 6pm when my friend will arrive and will spend at least 3 hours telling me her latest man troubles, I will of course be extremely sympathetic about this even though I know all 3 verses and the disco chorus and sing along to them on a weekly basis. I will be ever so supportive and will find myself agreeing to spending more hours in bars looking for men with her as I will be distracted by cooking the childrens tea, signing homework diaries, finding lost kit and getting the uniforms ready for the next day.

At around 10 pm I will load the dishwasher and start to prepare my year 10's structure and mechanism of the heart lesson I should have finished yesterday but didn't as it took me so long to finish my year 12's marking. I will them prepare the craft activity I have to do with my mums and babies tomorrow at my parenting skills class, it's lovely, I am going to do the babies hand or foor prints in gold or silver on black card and put them in these pre bought tree decorations. I only have to write baby ---- first Christmas in calligraphy, and I only have a dozen.

At stupid o clock I will flop into bed wondering where my day went and I will spend a few hours trying to work out how I can get 3 days to visit my parents when I have to work on the 22nd Dec and the 2 youngest have to be with their Dad on the 24th and then again on the 26th through till New Year, actually January 2nd. I think the only thing to do is drive up after work on the 22nd and drive down late on the 23rd as thats the only time I have my full compliment of offspring so they can see my parents.

I'd much rather stay in bed. Preferably with someone making me a cup of coffee and reading me a story till I fall asleep.

13 comments:

Mean Mom said...

And I thought I had problems! I do enjoy Christmas, on the whole, but there seems less and less time to enjoy it, somehow. I seem to spend the whole of December preparing for it and there's always a little bit more to do. Anyway, I suppose it keeps most of us women out of mischief, for a month, doesn't it?

Tell your friend that if she hangs around in bars looking for a man, she will only find the sort of man who likes hanging around in bars, looking for women. ;0)

Hope you get everything done!

DAB said...

LOL, you're one funny lady :) Have a great day sweetie TFxx

Anonymous said...

Never mind... you'll have all those long teachers' holidays in which to recover. xxxx x

Anonymous said...

Ugh! Bah humbug! Hehe...Xmas is one time of the year I'm glad my girls are grown and gone. Cats don't care if I put up a tree or not. Just a few gifts to buy and done!

Shirley said...

We haven't celebrated Christmas with the masses in years (for religious reasons, if you can wrap your mind around that), and after reading about your day, it makes me count my blessings. I don't know how anybody survives!

Working Mum said...

Merry Christmas! If you manage your Christmas shopping in one hour, I'm a monkey's uncle! Try the internet, my presents arrive on my doorstep while I'm at work.

Nota Bene said...

I know I'm a bit late...but if I just drop you a list of people I need to get prsents for, could you just do that for me. Could you? Could you?

Anonymous said...

I'm usually all about doing the shopping at the VERY last minute but this year I did do most of it online and got stuff delivered to my office which was a miracle and will be done every year from now on. I do love Christmas but it is bloody hard work huh?

*~*Cece*~* said...

Girl don't even make me bust out my list of stuff to do on Friday! I've not only got to finish xmas shopping but I have to shop for booze/food for when Craze comes visits next week, the xmas meal we begin preparing on the 19th, Mister's bday party on the 20th & I still have to find time to go to my kick-boxing class & work out and run the kid pick up from school. Why can't there be two of me at this time of year? Oh & now my girlfriend from work (ex-work) wants to do a get together for drinks VERY soon! If it wasn't for the mention of drinks I'd blow her off! lol

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Goodness, you're a miracle worker!
How on earth will you get all that done? I just love leaving all my shopping till the last minute and getting that familiar panicky feeling.. will we have enough presents, stocking fillers, food, drink, is there a turkey left in the shops etc. It just adds to the fun somehow. M :-)

auntiegwen said...

MM - i love Christmas, I just wish I didn't have to do it all, and my friend knows that, re the Mr "you're beautiful" saga

TF - it was hell, as imagined, probably if Dante's wife had written The Inferno, she'd have set it in a suburban shopping centre in December

Anon- like I said to you when you so smugly texted me to tell me you were in Starbucks with no shopping to do, feck off, with love xxxx x

Lisa - I'm looking forward to that time too x

Wm - I always come back to the card that says drive to the post office and collect and thats miles away from me ! I've got nowhere safe to leave parcels sadly

NB - see reply to other smart arse male friend !!! x

penelope - I wonder if they would deliver to school for me ? it's knackering !

cece - have a big one for me when craze comes x

M - I have always wanted to go for a long walk along the beach st Christmas, if you do that, will you think of me ? xxx

A Confused Take That Fan said...

Auntie - Did you get all your shopping done? I should be writing my Christmas cards tonight but instead I am writing this. oops.

scrappysue said...

some of that was relaxing, but mostly it made my eyes water! what a juggling act christmas must be for separated families.

hope you got all your shopping done!