Christmas.

Well, I bought my first Christmas present today!  Well, it was in the sales and seemed too good to pass over. A jumper which was £15, cost me £3.50.

 Well, what would you have done?

Do you like Christmas? What about all the hype? Do shops stock up too early? Maybe you like to shop in all year round so as to be organised once the season is here?

Me? Well, I just can't wait for it to be all over with and yes, I most certainly do think it starts far too early (even if I did choose to buy a bargain) I just find it one expensive and stressfull time of the year!

Mind you, somone mention NY is great at that time of the year...... 

I don't care for it as much as I used to. Some of the stores do start stocking for it a bit too early I found. Although I know a lot of people, who start shopping for it really really early.

If you make things by hand, they say it's not to late to be starting your projects. About four months from now you'd like to be finished with them I think.  For fabric concerns, not it's not to late, at least by the end of the month to have some Christmas fabrics. I can't beleve some of the things I'm seeing these days for "quickies"...like small pillows, you take two small pieces of sqaure fabric, fabric glue..then you put the insides together..glue three sides together, then open it up and take toliet paper, yes, toliet paper.. and wind it all around your hand real loose like and stuff the little pillow..fold in an finsihed edge and glue the fourth side together. Of course this poor liitle pillow can't be washed or laundered..but it's an "quickie" to make. If you look around most people could most likely find fabric enough to make it pretty much for free. This is for people like to change their decor an lot. No sewing machine neeeded.

They put up the 1st decorations at Merry Hell (Merry Hill - the shopping centre which is far too close to my present house) 2 weeks ago! What are they thinking! Saying that it is Christmas all year here - my middle son loves snowmen so we have loads of them around the house!

We always start our Christmas a week after Terry's Birthday which is 1 December. So on the 8 December when we take the birthday cards down I allow them to decorate the house. I am not a Christmas loving person but I always try to make it magical for my boys.

I also do what you did Babs - if I see a bargain or something special I buy it and put it in the cupboard for a present be it birthday or Christmas. Then at Christmas I get all the things out the cupboard and decide what is going to each person just leaving a few extras to get.

Steph, 2 weeks ago? Wow!! Christmas should, in my opinion, be kept to December. By the time the big day arrives the little kids are all used to it and nothing seems so exciting as it was when I weas a nipper. 

Oh yes, I forgot, I bought some fancy socks and put them away a few weeks ago. I'll probably give them to my niece with whatever.

Shirley, I'm so un-creative and hopless at making anything. I once made a stuffed toy elephant in school and the teacher said it looked like an embryo.   When I was expecting my son, I started knitting a matinee jacket for him. It's still not finsihed and now he is 23 and in Uni. 

We keep Christmas simple. We give token gifts and stress the meaning and spirit of the season. All the hype? You can have it; it means nothing to us.

Cheers,

Bob

Sadly, Christmas has been over-commercialized for years but I don't let that dampen my enjoyment of the season.  I keep my own perspective on things.  I love the lights and decorations (not the plastic stuff so much), a beautifully decorated tree, traditional carols being sung, watching sappy old Christmas-themed movies, etc.  Mostly, I enjoy gathering with friends and family and sharing a special meal, a thoughtfully chosen gift, and the pleasure of each other's company.  It also always makes me painfully aware of all the people in the world who don't have the luxury of enjoying a comfortable, safe, fun Christmas with family and friends.  Maybe they are military serving in a foreign land, or living rough and alone on the streets, or another number of other circumstances.  I spend a good portion of my Christmas budget each year on behalf of those people, hoping to bring a spark of joy to them at that time of year.  Not trying to make myself sound all benevolent, it's just what I do and it gives me joy to do so.

Nicely sad Barbar;-)))) My only stress was money but know my family draws names and we only spend 50.00 on the gift so it makes it a lot less stressful. I think Christmas gifts should be for the children beacuse thats not what it is about any way not that i dont like getting gifts,,,lol but i love giving tham more;-)