Christmas Progress Report

Pretending it's not happening haha.

But also when ASOS is struggling, my boss thinks I can fix Christmas sales for a tiny art gallery through the power of Instagram...pray for a Christmas miracle...or some rich person pops in on Christmas Eve and buys out out entire exhibition.

Managed to squeeze all the presents I have bought into my suitcase to fly home tonight, only a few more bits and pieces to buy, so the Christmas shopping has been fairly successful this year.

Getting all the work that I need to do before the holidays done by 5pm today is an entirely different story though...

Progress: 0%.
No shopping, no gifts, no Christmas decorations, nothing. And I've only heard "Last Christmas" twice this year...
I don't know why but I can't get into the festive mood this year. It's been a very busy year though, so maybe I'm just tired and need a big mug of mulled wine.

Barely started buying pressies (disturbingly, hubby got all his bought and wrapped last month!). But have done most of the food stuff: have freezers full of sausage rolls, mince pies and various other nibblage and the like. Cooking while listening to many cast recordings at high volume, sans shame! And occasionally with a large g & t in hand!

And just finished a 5th Christmas cake (not for me I hasten to add: just not a fan of fruit cake) but for family and friends.

Now to watch the sublime Angela Lansbury in Mrs. Santa Claus - one of my many festive treats!

Successful Christmas shopping this afternoon. I'm now mostly done, not that I have that much to do. Does anyone else keep thinking Christmas is nearer than it actually is? I keep thinking it's at the weekend then having to remind myself that it's actually not till Tuesday. This may be influnced by us putting up the Christmas decorations on 15th whereas usually we don't do them till a couple of days before Christmas (last year we didn't get them up at all due to illness so my mother was determined to have them up early this year just in case flu strikes again!).

The good news is I've finally finished locating all the presents that made it into my house and promptly disappeared. I need to buy three last presents (and I know what two of them are going to be) and check I have enough giftwrap and then we're off! Tuesday's quite a nice day for Christmas because with the office shutting down on Friday (thoughts and prayers with those who work through the entire festive season), it feels like the day itself is a lot closer than it is, but then I'll still have three solid days to finish everything up (and see a couple of shows, obvs).

What? There's something called Christmas in a few days time? Oh well. I have been stupidly busy in the last few months and have not written a single Christmas card or got any presents. That lack of card writing is worse that present buying for me. I am lucky in that I only need things for my parents and sister, my sister is meant to be sending me an ebay link so I can buy her something, other than that she wants dog poo bags (she recently got a dog), my mum says she wants nothing and I doubt I'll get anything for my dad (or I'll steal something my mum had bought and give him that), so luckily a simple Christmas shop still to happen. Cards will have to be January cards.

Present wrapping all done. Whoever decided to produce 6-sided chocolate boxes clearly did not try wrapping them! I've never been ready for Christmas so early. I wish it was tomorrow to get it over & done with.

Shopping all done, just some wrapping to do, mulled wine to drink and mince pies to eat 😀

Shopping done, presents wrapped. Most out of necessity as with my family scattered I have been dishing out presents on visits the last couple of weeks.Got a few days off before back to work on 27th! Can't wait!!

For some reason, the 'perfect' BBC has taken agin people who go shopping on Christmas Eve, portraying them (me) as lazy or unorganised. This being the same BBC that, despite Christmas being on the same date every year, always fails to make enough programmes, so fills the schedules with repeats of repeats, and EastEnders.

Christmas Eve is all about holding one's nerve. By 3 o'clock this afternoon, I can guarantee that Marks and Spencer will be selling fresh turkeys, even huge organic ones, at half price.

The partners mother has arrived. The ham is baked, the table more or less set, veg prepped. The Christmas pudding is still in Waitrose because they are the work of the devil. I've plucked and stuffed the turkey, all I got to do now is kill it and it's ready for the oven*.


*This is a joke and no animals were used in the preparation of this joke.

I take this opportunity to wish all Theatreboarders a merry Christmas however you choose to spend it.

Last presents wrapped. Washing up from the Big Family Christmas Dinner yesterday (my mother's birthday) all done. Boxing Day ham soaking. Cards delivered. Regular seasonal nervous breakdown averted... so far.

Now browsing Netflix for an appropriate seasonal film. I'm down to a shortlist of three: Dead Man Walking, Gorky Park, or Sing.

Happy Christmas!