Christmas planning...

It's not August yet, Bryn's birthday is still over two weeks away, but I've already started thinking about Christmas.

I was looking at Christmas trees online the other day. Our fibre optic tree faded and I chucked it in a skip in January last year with the plan to get another one before last Christmas - and then I promptly forgot, which meant in late November when I went to get the tree out of the garage, I couldn't find it anywhere. Now, considering the scale at which we had stuffed the garage, that in itself wasn't surprising, however when a thorough search yielded nothing I suddenly remember myself shotput flinging it in its box over the edge of the skip. I got a couple of trees from a friend who was moving, but in the end they were both too short for our family and we ended up getting MIL's old tree (which I swear was our old tree from before the optic fibre tree). That tree needed a string of lights and I refused to buy the things because of that one time I was electrocuted by one... We missed the lights though, so I'm determined to get a replacement this year.

The other thing we're doing - I may have mentioned this is a post last week or the week before, is that we're going to split Christmas this year. We usually have a Christmas Eve dinner for the whole family, and then back up for a late Christmas lunch with Dave's mum the next day. For the last couple of years we've been wrecked for a couple of days after Christmas. So, this year, we're going to do the Christmas Even dinner on the 16th of December instead. It probably won't be a full family dinner as I can't see a change in the status quo of my relationship with mum, and Michael and his girlfriend Anya will likely want their own Christmas, but it'll be good - we're thinking we'll invite Erik this year, if he wants to come.

This means I'll finally, finally be able to sit down and enjoy the Carols on TV in peace and quiet on Christmas Eve (we will NOT be wrapping presents that night).

Then on Christmas Day we'll be able to have a leisurely lunch with Dave's mum.

With regard to presents, which the boys usually open the majority of on Christmas Eve, we'll have  one present for them on the 16th for after dinner. Then we'll do a Christmas Eve present - which will likely be pjs. Then the Christmas morning stocking, and finally the main presents when Dave's mum joins us for lunch.

I'm looking forward to Christmas this year, already.