The Secular Side Of Christmas...

I wasn't quite as organised as I'd have liked this year. Mind you, it's been an improvement on last year - I was feeling so out of sorts that I didn't send any Christmas cards, and only gave out a (small) handful.

I managed to sort out my computerised addressbook - this is despite Microsoft's best attempts to scupper the process - by using an older version of Word to do my address labels, and temporarily making Outlook my default mail client... or something like that. Whatever. It worked... and having the labels pre-printed means that I can write nice messages inside the cards instead of getting writer's cramp copying out the addresses...

I made a couple of half-hearted attempts to do my Christmas shopping early, but didn't succeed. This is partly because I needed information from my mother and my sister about what to buy their menfolk. Unfortunately they were out of ideas, or were keeping them for themselves.

The December pay date is always early, which allows us teachers to buy lots of nice presents... and then practice our numeracy skills during January as we contemplate the amount of month left when the money has pretty much expired...

This year payday was Friday. I couldn't have gone to Bluewater on Friday even if I'd wanted to: evening Mass and a music practice for Christmas Day had already been arranged. Saturday was an option... but the Saturday before Christmas is probably not the best day to go anywhere near a shop. Bexleyheath apparently came to a grinding halt because of the fog and the increase in shoppers. I was in church pretty much all day Sunday. So I took a chance on Christmas Eve being my best bet for shopping. Of course, I was aware that it could all go horribly wrong...

I went to a very early Mass (which always makes one feel virtuous) and then had a cup of tea and a chat with our Sacristan who was getting various things ready for Midnight Mass. I got to Bluewater at about 9:30am, and as the place doesn't open properly until 10am there were plenty of parking spaces. I shot into a couple of shops to buy prezzies for my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and then made an emergency phone call to check whether my nephew already had a particular toy (he did) and the desirability of a suitable replacement (It involved a mallet and some round balls and holes to bash them through... my sister approved!) I was out by 11:30am - just as the place was beginning to get crowded...

I'm now home in plenty of time to do some housework and wrap the presents. Smug just doesn't cover it!