Spread your Ho

Yo! Ho Ho Ho, a merry Christmas to all who celebrate this delightful time of the year. Well, for a non-happy clapper who hates choosing and wrapping gifts, and doesn't find gorging on three course meals in the boiling hot weather a fun thing to do, probably less than delightful.  And I am even less ho ho ho'ish this year, and not just because I can't glug champagne with abandon as I usually do. None of us can forget that my mom will be starting chemo next week, plus my little sister (the one who cooks) is not here, my little brother (the one who makes us laugh) is also not here and the other one, Sister Mel, the one who loves all things traditional and religious, has been banished to the 'burbs as her family are invested with life threatening goggas (germs). A sober Christmas indeed.

Because Christmas is the time for giving and for abandoning your diet, if only for one day, I have graciously allowed you the opportunity to share your Ho with others less fortunate than you - my sister is looking for onesies and sleepers for her wee babes in the Bosom Buddies charity.  If you can help out with new or gently used 0-3 month onesies and sleepers (and anything else  of course) please pop over to her blog for info on the collection point.

I hope you have a great day and that Father Christmas brings you lots of exciting gifts that aren't hand cream and body lotion.

PS Not sure I should admit this out loud, but my husband is at the store at 8am on Christmas day as I have not yet finished wrapping the gifts. Bad wife/mother. Marko said he would finish wrapping the gifts but unfortunately it would appear I have run out of wrapping paper. I convinced him that it would be absolutely fine to use brown paper, but unfortunately we ran out of that too.  I then suggested we use newspaper but he said that he is putting his foot down, newspaper is out of the question. What! It is just going to get ripped off anyway! Anyway, he is at the shop buying more wrapping paper. Yes, I really do suck that much. I should never be left in charge of choosing or wrapping gifts. Ho ho ho indeed.

Updated to add:  Christmas day was actually quite ok, it was nice having both sets of grandparents there. Father Christmas got it exactly right, a remote control dinosaur for Kate and a digger and truck for Adam.  Plus a few other things. I got body lotion and hand cream. Because apparently you can never have too much hand cream or body lotion. (PS The Blackberry is wonderful and all, but it clearly isn't meant to be used as a camera. Forgive crappy quality of pics)

Comments

[Megan]

One suggestion -- gift bags! We use them year after year, over and over again. And, since they're waiting in the closet each year, we don't have to worry about running out. They're also much less fuss -- no tape, no cutting.

[Tertia]

I dont think you get gift bags big enough for the presents Adam and Kate are getting - a big horse and trailer car thingy and a remote control dinosaur. Among others :-)

[Netta]

Merry Christmas, Tertia.
Wishing all of your family a gift that cannot be wrapped: good health.

[Kristin]

Merry Christmas Tertia. Wishing you happiness and good health!

[Judy]

Have a wonderful Christmas, Tertia.

I second the gift bag thing - we have bags here big enough for bicycles...and everything else pretty much! Anything that won't fit in the bag gets a big old bow and that's IT! :-)

PS I love newspaper for gift wrap - especially the comics!

[BiancaW]

Just logged on very quickly......Merry Christmas T. Glad you had a divine day. Best of luck for next week. XXX

[minni]

lurker here but just had to comment... your son got a [dump] truck and a [wheeled] excavator - from the pic I see! My son who just turned 4 is very particular about the terminology ... just thought I'd help out a gal-pal... Merry Christmas and happy new year!
cheers,

[dblet]

Glad you survived Christmas.good luck with your Mom starting chemo will be a trying time but she will be fine,there's something about their generation that makes them a bit tougher than we are.My mom is a bladder Ca survivor, was diagnosed 6 years ago and finally had her bladder removed 2 months ago.....and shes just getting on with it as she puts it.

[Dana]

Merry Christmas, Tertia! and the best of luck to your mother.

PS: your children will kill you when they get older and they see that you have published pictures of them in underwear... Worldwide... LOL

[Lisa S.]

Haha, I feel the same re: waste of time, gifts unwrapping etc. Tip to Marko: my dad's signature wrapping paper when I was a kid was the comics section of the Sunday paper. Genius, right? And we kids loved it!!

[Wobs]

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright....