Step away from the quilted toilet paper…..!!!

I’ve noticed reading some of the blogs I follow recently that lots of folk find it a challenge to cope with the blues.  I think this time of year, despite being filled with happy songs, decorations and children is quite a difficult time to raise your game.  Maybe it’s the dark days, lack of light and cold weather, I don’t know.  I do know that at this time of year I always feel that people are happier and coping better than I am pretending to be.  Or are they just pretending too?

What I have noticed is a bit of a change this year, a shift if you like. OK we are coping with the precarious financial situation in the UK but I think what I’m picking up is a bit of a positive spin off.  Most of the parents I’ve spoken to are going back to basics a bit with Christmas this year.  Old boardgames are being discovered and people are cutting back on the over the top festive fayre – it’s got a kind of back to basics feel to it. I also know that lots of folk, instead of asking for a gift, are opting for charity options this year, or even doing something for a charity.

For some years now in our family we have done a Christmas draw where all the adults names go into a hat and the name you pick out is the person you buy a gift for.  This may sound a bit stingy but we all benefit from this.  For one you don’t spend days trawling the shops buying things that are more than likely to be returned and secondly financially it’s a real lightener at this time of year, so it’s a real winner for us all.  I know it’s not for everyone but it works for us.

I also think the recession has made people revisit Christmas traditions.  In our house, when I was a little girl my mum always bought new nightdresses for my sister and I to wear on Christmas Eve.  Yeah you know the ones made from that awful nylon material that would spark if you moved about in a dark room.  Oh yep, I remember it well.  The drill on Christmas Eve was bath, new nightdress on and then she would tell us to go and sit in front of the (open) fire to dry our hair!  As a parent myself of course, and in light of health and safety and the likes, how my sis and I managed to be here today I do not know!

Anyhow, as is usually the way I carried this tradition into my own parenthood (minus forcing my child to sit dangerously in front of the fire) dutifully buying my son new PJ’s for Christmas Eve.  Of course the other tradition I have (and I confess I know not where this comes from) is that I always buy quilted toilet roll for the Christmas holidays! I know that no explanation is required – I think it just sort of stems from having a bit of luxury at Christmas. In my defence I didn’t really think it through in any great depth.

Anyhow, I digress.  Oh yes, what I was going to say is that I’ve decided that these two traditions are effectively falling by the wayside this year.  For one my teenage son no longer wears the PJ’s I buy him and, if I’m honest, nobody will really miss the quilted toilet roll.  So having freed up a bit of cash and having been influenced by one of the other traditions that seem to be returning to Christmas this year I went of in search of something charitable I could do with the PJ and toilet roll cash. So here’s what I’ve narrowed the choices down to and I’ll share them as My 7 Days of charity Christmas Stuff.  They’re all just a little bit different and they all benefit folk right here in the UK.  Here’s what I found……

On the 1st day of Christmas

A session at an after school club - for UK’s latchkey children. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

On the 2nd day of Christmas

Warm Blankets for Chillie Grannies  - keep a granny cosy this winter 
 
 
 

On the 3rd day of Christmas

Granny’s Hairdo - do you know how little it costs to boost the esteem of an elderly lady? Well, an excursion to the hairdressers for shampoo, cut and set, or a perm, sets you back £25. And it all makes her feel like a million dollars. 
 
 
 
 

On the 4th day of Christmas

A Cat for Comfort - lots of elderly and housebound people love to keep pets for comfort and companionship. Trouble is the cost may make  ownership too dear.  This gift helps out with food and vets bills giving endless hours of comfort. 
 
 
 

On the 5th day of Christmas

Fresh Roots for Homeless People - Stump up for wellies, tools and seeds so that residents in UK hostels for the homeless can grow their own fruit and veg. 
 
 
 
 
 

On the 6th day of Christmas

Nice New Pyjamas and a Teddy - for a children in a women’s refuge, who had to leave it all behind. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And finally…. being a student this one appealed to me…

On the 7th day of Christmas

Buy a Brain Cell - helps towards the development of treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
 
 
 

So in the spirit of getting back to basics and thinking about chasing the blues away and reminding me of the simple but really important stuff of life I’m passing on this wee video shared by another OU student in her blog My Open Adventure.  Enjoy

So if you’re trying to simplify things this year what’s your plan?

When the blues get a hold, what do you do to pick yourself up?