Sunday 11 December 2011

It's Christmas time...


Yes, really, it is finally almost upon us. The shops may have been telling us since September, but with 2 weeks to go, I think it's reasonable to say now that it's very nearly Christmas.

As they say, Christmas comes but once a year, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that is thinking, thank heavens for that. For me, it's the fact that I haven't got my Christmas shopping under control yet that's panicking me. For others, I know it's the whole family/work/life juggling to get ready for the Christmas festivities that causes no end of stress. Sadly, for still others, it's the loneliness of loss or the fear of violence that can make this time of year hard to bear.

We all rush around at this time of year - visiting family, seeing friends, buying gifts, making and eating delicious food,going to church, giving thanks - just to make the holiday perfect. It does make me wonder why we have to save it all up - why don't we make more effort to keep in touch throughout the year, why do we need special occasions to tell people we love and care about them? Why can't we do that every day?

And with that, I'm off to brave Stirling shops again to see if I can break the back of my own personal Christmas stress factor. Yesterday's Farmers Market got me some of the way there, off to see if the independent traders are open today for round two!! I may not be managing to keep away from the big corporate fraud completely, but I'm doing my best to shop local, shop small, and when I can, shop handmade.

1 comment:

oldrunningfox. said...

I'm with you about being glad that Christmas comes but once a year. Any more and I'd be a nervous wreck.
But for this once, Happy Christmas!