It doesn’t have to be like this….

Today my organisation are going out for our Christmas lunch.  Now I’ll be honest I did hesitate as to whether or not I was going to go to this or not.  I’m not a fan of big gatherings however I also acknowledge that it’s also important to get together with colleagues, especially as it’s been a tough year for our organisation, having lost funding and of course colleagues as a result of this.  They are all coming back to join us for Christmas Lunch and this changes the way I feel about it so here I sit in my finery ready to head out to meet everyone at 2pm.

Well, I say finery, I don’t really do finery however I’ve taken off the obligatory wellies, pushed the boat out and put on some heels (which I don’t do due to arthritis) but the lovely gel cushion insoles promise to see me through the day.

Get your wellies off girl, it's party time!

The talk in the office today is ‘are you ready for Christmas?’, ‘Ive still to do this’, ‘I’ve still to do that’.  It made me realise that I haven’t really done anything about planning for Christmas and, in all fairness, I’m not feeling any stress in this.

If I’m honest I think Christmas can be a crazy time, made worse by pressure to provide or produce the perfect occasion.  We are having a small family Christmas and so I have full confidence that I can turn out some decent fayre and that we can all enjoy the day with no pressure.

I love the excitement of Christmas.  Gazing into a Christmas sky I still get that little magical feeling that Santa will soon by flying through the clouds dropping gifts off in houses.  Silly I know, but despite being an adult I think the magic of Christmas has remained with me.

As I walked through town this morning shop windows are adorned with messages that gifts are about joy and love and yes they are.  However the cynic in me also sees the collection of shops as cathedrals of consumerism.  I think there is something to be said for seeing things differently and doing things differently  - even at Christmas time.

Just because you've always done things a certain way doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun to try something different

This year I’m not going overboard on the present buying, instead I’m going to make a few gifts.  Out with coffee with my husband this week I mentioned that I really don’t want anything for Christmas.  I’m not being all bah humbug, but in all honesty, now that I have my lovely bedroom there is really nothing I want.

When I say making things I’m not going to lock myself away in a room with oodles of craft stuff producing hand made crazy presents for people.  Having kept my eyes open I’ve spotted a few clever ideas that make something quite small seem special.  Here’s a few I picked up that look very do-able.

Lets face it, if you found this on your doorstep wouldn't you smile?

 

If you're missing a shirt husband don't look at me...

So any tips out there Blogland, cleaver little things that might bring a smile at Christmas?