Look, I will get on top of Christmas prep eventually. I have recipes for mulled punch and sugar cookies ready to go, and my knitted garland is almost finished, and I’m planning on breaking out the wrapping paper and twine once I get through this kitchenful of dirty crockery. And, um, the general house devastation. If Santa could see my living room now, he’d be all *eyebrow raise*. Naughty list.
I don’t know why we complicate Christmas so much. Every year I say ‘ok, this time we’re keeping it simple’, and it never is. All I want to do is bake and eat and sit around with family watching Christmassy films. I also want to sit in a hall with two hundred other people and bellow out Christmas carols at least once, but we did that on Sunday. TICK. The rest of it is still unwritten.
But today – hey, look! – I did most of the rest of the Christmas shopping. We were in town early, and buzzed around collecting presents on the list. It started well when I finally found a tie-on woolly hat that Henry didn’t pull off within three seconds. And it continued well when I saw the most fabulous gift tags for our presents in Paperchase (whatevs, I get very excited by wrapping accoutrements). And finally, it finished well when I decided that we really ought to have brought lunch with us, and grabbed some pasties and mince pies from Greggs. Greggs is not the classiest of joints. Swinging a bag of Greggs’ pasties in the middle of town downgraded my social standing by about seventeen points. But, gosh, if you can’t appreciate a good chicken pasty – well. You’re letting yourself down, is what I’m saying.
On the way home, we stopped off at the park. It’s been so long, what with one raincloud and another.
Hey guys, the park said. Missed you! Do you think my slide is shinier? I think so. Want to see if that grossly swampy patch is still there? Yep, it is. Ha, sorry. S’ok, your jeans look fine. Better like that. Oh, before I forget, this ledge is even more exciting to climb on now it’s slippery.
Henry always does what the park says. Bit of a pushover, I think.
make a long story short 