All I want for Christmas is....?

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All I want for Christmas isn't 'you' or 'them' or 'it' unless peace and quiet is considered an 'it'. Christmas seems to have been with us for weeks, certainly since Halloween.  I heard Christmas carols being played in a cafe in Paris in mid November and I thought even the French would not be impressed with this nonsense, this Americanization of Christmas.  I don't want to shop and eat and drink all of December. I want to spend a few days with my family and friends around the actual days of Christmas.  Even the Christmas work party filled me with dread and thankfully, due to a lack of places I could offer my place to a new member of staff and avoid being nice when people say things they deserve to be slapped for, all made worse thanks to a few nasty cocktails. Don't get me wrong, I am no Grinch and the girls in the office are lovely, without them my office would be a lot harder to face each day and I will be sad to not work with them anymore. This weekend I am writing cards out, posting them and have done quite a bit of Christmas shopping, my parents, nieces and sisters are already sorted and we are also having a family trip to the cinema to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi and we are all excited. Dad will make the most of those 3 hours quiet and probably nap in his reclining chair, and this is how it should be.  

Me at Christmas?

I've never spent Christmas alone and hope I never will nor have I ever spent Christmas in my own home. Why would I!? I don't have to decorate my flat and don't have to buy excessive amounts of food that is thrown away by the 28th (my Mam always has to throw things away or fill my bag with things she knows I will eat). I am hoping to spend some time with friends before Christmas but as I am the 'single' one, the invites tend to diminish each year and organizing get-togethers is harder as is organizing New Years Eve parties or breaks.  I've not bothered recently and the less effort I put in, the happier it turns out. I wanted to go to New York or San Francisco this year but there was little logic in spending £700 to spend 3 nights in a city with possibly only 1 of my friends being there but the stress of trying to find something almost took over me and it made my man-flu/cold worse. I am not spending silly money on something I'll probably not enjoy.

I think 2018 is going to be a good year for lots of reasons including one of my great friends adopting which I am very excited about and very proud of her, she is giving potentially 2 kids a home for Christmas and that is a truly amazing thing, they will have a family and that is what is important, I don't always get on with my parents or sisters but we love each other, we argue, we say sarcastic things and we shout, my nephews are one minute lovable, the next minute they are pains in the ass, my nieces are the same but in a less annoying way (give them time). We enjoy our Christmas days and we laugh a lot, we shout a lot and there are tears and tantrums (not just me), we watch Top of the Pops and Dr Who and we half listen to the Queen's Speech in a mocking tone (we are not a family of royalists) and by 6pm we are done, ready to be away from each other for a few hours and recharge our batteries for Boxing Day. That is Christmas for me, December 23-27th, lots of food, sleep, arguments, laughter and everything else in between and I hope all my friends near and far, and my family near and far have the same joyous experiences I will have. So don't let the excessive commercialization get to you, don't worry if you cannot afford something that is probably not going to last, just enjoy the people and the experiences.

And this is my favourite Christmas pop song (reminds me of childhood) which was always filled with fun and laughter and hugs and Lego.





And this is a link to my blog from last Christmas

 http://boyandcoconuttree.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/philomena-cunk-christmas-2016-moments.html

 Sean the Grinch :) 




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