I'm Planning Ahead (for once)

I wrapped my first Christmas presents today. Bought and wrapped.

Are you crazy?? It's still October!! I hear you say.

Ahhh yes, but you see, I have been here before. Sitting comfortably in October thinking that December 25th is still a long way off. I have been lulled, in years gone by, into a false sense of time-security.

Before I know it November is upon me, with the whirl of Wedding anniversaries and birthdays, party planning and birthday buying, celebrating and cake-making. November is a total wipe-out for me.

And then before I realise what's hit me it's December. And I am forced to scramble madly with the hordes, braving shops full of crazed Christmas Shoppers, racking my brain trying to figure out what to buy everyone.

Then comes Christmas Eve and my dreams of sitting in the flickering candlelight with stockings hung, presents wrapped and Carols playing as I sip wine with my hunny and soak up that magical Christmas Eve tingle... well forget that.

Instead I am stage whispering threats of cancelling Christmas to children who won't sleep as I watch the clock tick closer to midnight and realise that all my prezzies lay hidden unwrapped in every nook and cranny.

By midnight all's quiet but I have a stiff neck, a sore behind and blurry eyes from trying to stubbornly wrap gifts by candlelight. I have also spent Christmas Eve alone because Mr G has been furiously wrapping his gifts to me in another part of the house, after his own Christmas Eve dash.

Not this year.

I am enforcing a wrap-as-you-buy policy. All presents will be wrapped and labelled as soon as they are bought. No more Christmas Eve wrapping frenzy.

I am now this very minute patting myself on the back for thinking ahead and snapping up some red-light bargains in K-Mart's post-Christmas clearout. Oh yes! I got rolls and rolls of quality wrapping paper and fancy labels for (drum roll) 40c each!!

So don't look at me funny for starting my Christmas shopping in October. If I was truly well-prepared I would have been snapping up bargains all year (like my mum does).

Speaking of my mum, I am also patting myself on the back because today I booked tickets for Mum and Dad to fly up and spend Christmas with us! Woohoo! This will be the first time ever that we have had my parents at our house for Christmas. And it will be so special after Dad's Heart Attack and surgery (he's doing really well, BTW).

We have some credits left on a travel voucher Mr G won a while back, so, yippee! Christmas with my Folks!

My mum instilled in me the love of making Christmas special. Even when we had no money she hand-made gifts for us; she would spend days, weeks cooking, baking special Christmas treats. And now I get to have her in my home, to show her that her legacy lives on. I am well stoked. And looking forward to Christmas!