Christmas is coming....

Presents
Only one christmas present to buy...that means I have got all the other ones! I started way back in October this year, and the one I was looking for there (or the most difficult person to buy for) is the one I still haven't got. It is for my sister who retains the role in my life as being difficult to buy for - she has most things she wants, is moving into a new house soon and getting married - more than enough opportunities for present buying.

In past years I have bought her joke presents, useful presents and jokey useful presents (Green Gecko shower gel dispenser anyone??!). And I really have no idea what to buy her. I always assume the worst reactions in other people such as "What do I do with that?" "Why?" and "Thanks, it's interesting". Thus I end up thinking about what to buy them for ages then wrack myself with worry about whether they will like it, until i give it to them.

This year, me and some school friends, whom I haven't seen for between 3 months and 5 years (bear in mind we left 6th form in July 2000), are all meeting up on Christmas Eve. We have decided to do a secret santa style thing which should be fun. This added a further complexity to my christmas present buying.

Christmas Dinner
This year I will be having two Christmas Dinners - next Tuesday with Mum, Dad and my sister down at home, and one tomorrow. The one tomorrow is with a group of my former colleagues from work. Ten of us are meeting at someone's flat for a full Christmas Dinner. Somehow I got roped in to do the cooking and shopping. So today Butcher Boy and I were out buying stuff - potatoes, carrots, sprouts, custard, chocolate tart etc. Oh, and you might notice the Turkey missing from that list - that is because the shop we were in (where we all used to work) had sold out for today, so Butcher Boy (like a ninja*) was going to wait around for the delivery tonight and grab one and buy it before the delivery reached the storage chill.

*Actually when I say wait like a ninja, I do in fact mean, do his normal shift, since his job involves waiting for, then bringing in the fresh food delivery anyway.

Expect a Christmas Dinner update at the weekend!

Christmas Videos
Following the sad death of Kirsty McColl, my favourite Christmas pop song has been surviving only in recordings from the 1980's and 90's. However Youtube has recently delivered this gem of Katie Melua and the Pogues performing it. The Pogues are hardly wearing well though, and the gumminess of singing is obvious compared to the clarity of the 1980's version.



Happy Christmas!