Sounds easy enough doesn't it. Just describe your perfect
Christmas Day. A bunch of presents, beautifully wrapped. A terrific feast of
turkey and trimmings. A big box of chocolates to share. And if we're truly lucky,
maybe even a little sprinkling of snow.
But not for me I'm afraid. I'm the one renowned in the
family for absolutely hating this time of year. Bah humbug just doesn't
describe it. I am totally bah bah bah and double humbug too!
So to have to describe my perfect Christmas Day is
challenge of the century stuff for me! Is there even such a thing as a perfect
Christmas? Everyone seems stressy to some extent this time of year, frantically
rushing around with so many things that supposedly 'have' to be done by
Christmas Day. I mean does it really matter if the living room doesn't get that
new coat of paint by Christmas? Why put the pressure on by ordering the new
sofa 'in time for Christmas' then find yourself with a few more grey hairs
arguing with the suppliers who can't get it scheduled in because of all the
Christmas deliveries.
I think we've all
at some point stood in the supermarket scrabbling for those last few grapes, a
piece of Stilton and a pack of smoked salmon. Foods that we could happily do
without the rest of the year, but without them at Christmas just wouldn't do;
Christmas would surely be spoilt. Oh and don't even get me stared on the
supermarket queues. By the time you make it to the checkout you find your
frozen items in a puddle and hear the ice cream sloshing about in the tub.
Knowing you've got beyond the 3 hour record of standing in the queue you dread
to even try to calculate what time you actually entered the store.
I queued for an hour last year at the post Office Depot
amongst all the other punters picking up their missed deliveries of Christmas
presents that, you guessed it, they needed to have 'in time for Christmas'. My
parcel? Oh that turned out to be a box of cereal I had won. Yep, cereal. Had I
known I would have left it until after Christmas to pick it up but of
course, I was worried that it might be something I needed 'in time for
Christmas' too.
I'm currently sat on the train coming home from London as
I write this. A train packed with people
returning from a days Christmas shopping. They are struggling under bags of
shopping. I look out the window and I see this billboard. For a moment, my
heart lifts and I get a buzz of excitement to find someone who agrees with me,
then I realise, I've misread the sign, it actually says Christmas is here (I'd
read it as Christmas is hell).
 |
| Christmas is hell? or Christmas is here? You decide. |
So for me the perfect Christmas would be one where
Christmas is cancelled! But the odds of that happening are highly unlikely (more unlikely than even a
white Christmas), so let's see if a visit from Scrooge's Three ghosts of Christmas will help me find my perfect Christmas day...
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Without sounding too pyschoanalytical, I think the true reason behind my hate of all things Christmas does stem back to childhood memories of Christmas. I struggle to find even one memory of a happy Christmas as a kid. Sure I had presents. Lots of presents. But the one thing I wanted more than anything was to have a happy Christmas day, one where neither mum nor dad would walk out. But it wasn't to be, so I realised then that no amount of Christmas presents would make Christmas be a happy one and that's why, even now, I have an aversion to receiving Christmas presents. I get extremely upset when people buy me Christmas presents and they don't have a clue why.
But as I'm thinking about this now, I realise that I may not be able to change what's past, but I can change my attitude to the present (in both senses of the word, if you'll pardon the pun).
The Ghost of Christmas Present(s)
So there are a few things I need to do to make things as
easy as possible on myself. Set some ground rules. Set a budget. No traipsing round the high street - just get everyone to
pick out what they want from the Argos catalogue as they have a great selection for house,
home, beauty and kids, (daddy might even finally get that new pillow that he's
been asking for all year), then just click and collect or even get it
delivered. No wasteful unwanted presents - just fab gifts for all the family. And that's 'Christmas Present' sorted.
 |
| 'Finding the perfect gift has never been easier' with our Christmas shopping done at Argos. |
The Ghost of Christmas yet to come.
Then when the big day arrives, it won't be as bad as I
imagine it will be (it never is). In fact, I end up enjoying the day after all. I smile at the
wonder on the kids faces as they discover Santa's sparkling footprints by the
fireplace, I absorb their excitement as they tear open the wrapping paper, I
love snuggling up and watching Christmas Doctor Who together. And we can
finally relax and have a few days off.
A few days where there are no routines to stick to, no
school runs to do, where you can lounge about in your pyjamas all day if you want
to. The experience it most reminds me of is having a new baby, when everything
else doesn't matter for a while - just spending time with
your family is the most important thing. Just being together.
 |
| Christmas time reminds me of when there's a new baby in the house - nothing else matters for a while. |
And I suppose ultimately Christmas is about a new baby, ok I admit, a particularly special baby without whom there would be no
Christmas. My favourite version of the nativity story is Nicholas Allan's Jesus Christmas Party, where one look at the new baby and the grouchy innkeeper's rage, anger, and bitterness totally melts away. And one look at my babies on Christmas day and that's when I'll realise that perhaps I don't want Christmas cancelled
after all. And perhaps I do already have the perfect Christmas. I just didn't
realise it until now.
Merry Christmas! This post is my entry into the Tots100/Argos 12 Days of Christmas competition.
I love that last photo, so very cute
ReplyDeleteah thanks Leyla. xxx
Delete