OMG!!!! LOOK AT THE TIME!!!!!

.... actually its more like "LOOK AT THE DATE!!!!!" ... (feels her pulse and tries to calm herself with breathing the palates way as her heart begins to palpitate) ... (lol! as if!)

OK I was only pretending to panic ... I don't do "panic" very well. I feel panicked sometimes, but try not to show it too often ;)

so back to the "OMG-LOOK-AT-THE-TIME/DATE" comment/title .... well have you actually realized yet that its only 67 days until Christmas ... yes, you heard me! 67 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!! That's only just over 9 weeks to go ladies and gents. That's a whopping 1608 hours! Or 96480 minutes!!!! Ok well that might be a little bit of overkill ... but 9 weeks left ...

oh dear lord ....

I have to start saving up ..... thinking of Christmas gifts for the kids, my parents, my extended family, my love .... *sigh* .... see all I'm hearing now is kaching kaching kaching ... well hopefully things will be fine and it won't be a headache but a great pleasure ...

Don't get me wrong ... I love Christmas time .... I get great pleasure from giving someone special to me a well thought out gift. That special something (no matter the cost) that tells them I was thinking of just them when I bought it or made it and it comes from my heart. Kids on the other hand don't really seem to see gifts in that light ... no, they tend to feel its more about quantity than quality. Ok, that is a bit of a generalization, but its a true one. How many times have you heard of someone buying an extremely expensive Fisher Price toy for a child only to have them use the box as a molecular-neutralization-laser-gun-thingy ... or a boat. They have excessive fun opening all those gifts and ... then what? That expectant look on the face as they peek to see if there might be another gift tucked under an anemic twig-like branch of the plastic wanna-be Christmas tree. Its preferable for them at this stage to take all their gifts from the big fat red berry of a non-existent man and move them to their bedrooms and play there while mommy has some time out with her love on the very comfy couch.

I'm actually really looking forward to having a very relaxed and enjoyable Christmas with family and new extended family this year. Its going to be beautiful. I want to decorate (if I can afford to) and make an elaborate meal. I want to make some gifts and buy some others. I want to make it awesome for EVERYONE involved. This has to be a great Christmas ... because I want to relive some of my amazing Christmas' of the past ... through my kids of course :D

I'm thinking though (if today's weather is anything to go by) that the menu has to be a cold one ... I'm not seeing snow on the horizon again until next winter and I'm SO not going to slave over a hot stove for hours cooking the turkey who has just had his ass feathers plucked for my (and my guests) benefit. No, I'm thinking cold meats - aka gammon, cold roast meat, cold roasted chicken; cold salads, breads and lots of pudding. Perhaps buying an umbrella or a gazebo of sorts would be a great idea ... then we could eat outside. I'm hoping we can do a Christmas lunch at our place this year instead of at my parents - but we'll see if that works out or not closer to the time.

And gifts? Well ... I'm very much in the mood to make some of them actually. Apricot jam, plum jam, marmalade, biscuits and perhaps a calendar for the grandparents .... well ... that's of course if I actually have time to do that all now that I'm working full time. I think we might close for a few days over the Christmas holidays, but I'm not sure yet. If that is the case and finances work in my favor, then I'm going to be baking and jam-making up a storm. I love making gifts for people. I find it very therapeutic and most people enjoy getting something that's a bit more personal and from the heart.

So what have you got planned this Christmas? Have you got any good recipes you'd like to share? Or do you need a few???

If you're stuck and have some gifts to give, I've got some splendid ideas for you! Why not have a photo shoot and use pics from that shoot to have Christmas cards, gift tags, wrapping paper or calendars made? Yes, I'm a one stop shop for all those things. I can even have puzzles and mugs done up with your pics. Or how about a few bottles of wine with a personalized label using one of your pics? That is also available :)

If you're interested, let me know - you know where to find me :)

Anyway, best I sign off for now ... keep in touch!

xxx
Meegs