It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, argh!

21 days until Christmas. O. M. G.

Things will be done differently this year.  We're staying home!  No stacking parcels around protesting children in the car like a game of Tetris gone awry.  No dreading anticipating the next family disagreement, which adds a bit of colour to the day.  No turkey grabs, no crackling incidents, no stress!

However, before my family gets narky at my apparent relief, I will miss seeing you guys!  I'll miss Pop handing out the pressies, seeing people's reactions when they open their gifts, the traditional Christmas spread (om nom nom!).  This is the first Christmas where the morning won't been spent with my parents, and I will be feeling that on the 25th of December.  Instead, our morning will be spent celebrating Christmas just with the PP as they open their gifts.  It's Molly's first Christmas, and I'm sure the wrapping paper will be more exciting than anything!  Instead of ham and turkey and roast veggies, we'll be having a seafood bbq with some dear friends at the beach.  The kids will be able to swim, and us bigguns will be able to relax!

I'm about halfway through my Christmas shopping.  I'm losing momentum.  I'm so proud of the things I've already bought (especially for my eldest cousin, from the girls!), but I'm at the part of my list where I'm struggling to think of what to buy people.  Vouchers are tempting, but they're so boring!  Clothes have the potential to offend the recipient (ask Mr J about my birthday!), and CDs and DVDs are soooo 2000.  My parade of parcels coming through the door is dwindling (I can hear Mr J cheering), and I have a nice pile of bits and bobs that require me to wrap them artfully.  I might have to get Mr J to do it: after all, the man sews and irons better than me (thank you Navy!).

We also need to purchase a new tree.  Ours went walkabouts on our big move, how you lose a tree I have no idea.  Maybe someone felt sorry for it, or maybe it followed someone home.  Maybe it was scared of being dressed yet again in a sparkly, gaudy array of baubles and tinsel that would put any mardi gras participant to shame.  Either way, we're going out next weekend to bring home a new tree that will fill a corner of the loungeroom, and spread it's branches lovingly over a pile of beautifully wrapped presents that will inevitably be chewed on by Miss Eden kitty as they have been the past two years.  The furries are themselves receiving a gift from Mel at Furry Fascination, sad when I've organised their gifts before some of my family members!  But I still have 21 days, right?!

Better get shuffling!