17 November 2016
Christmas Preparations
What should I be doing now?
by Lynda Goetz
For all those of you who, like me, swear every year that they will be more organised next year (and of course fail each time), here is a list of what you should be focusing on in the next couple of weeks, so as to be ready for those manic few days when you are feeding, entertaining and providing gifts for endless family members and friends (well, it’s always worth aiming at!):
- Plant those tulip bulbs you meant to plant in October.
- Give the lawns a final cut before the weather is permanently too damp (by which I really meant wet) to do anything of the sort and the garden looks rubbish from now until next March.
- Get rid of those b…y weeds which keep coming up in the flower beds so that you can actually put in those bulbs you bought a month ago. (Perhaps this should be item 1 really?)
- Mulch those flower beds to prevent the weeds from coming back (this should definitely be done after you have planted the bulbs, not before, otherwise you will find yourself scraping off the mulch to get the bulbs in).
- Check that you have got sufficient pants, socks, incense, bath gels, make-up, luggage labels, hair accessories, scarf pins, money pins, key rings, gift cards, fridge magnets, useless gadgets, chocolate and other expensive paraphernalia to fill your adult children’s stockings (if you still have small children then this list will be somewhat different and contain a lot more toys and chocolate and might be marginally less expensive).
- Start making your Christmas pudding – well starting does only entail soaking the dried fruit in brandy, so if you are too busy to actually finish making it then the soaking process just goes on for longer… and longer.
- Attempt to find the list of cards you sent last year (assuming you still indulge in this quaintly old-fashioned tradition) and the list of those who bothered to send cards to you. On the basis of these two lists work out who is still on your Christmas card list and get down to writing those cards.
- Make a list of people you need to buy presents for.
- Try and think of what the hell you can buy all these people. Put these suggestions alongside the list of names.
- Go shopping. Try and focus on those presents you need to buy. If all else fails buy yourself a present.
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