Are you ready yet?

This is the question I hear whenever I venture out at this time of year.  And as I am an extremely disorganised person I am never ready, so I give a vague mumbly answer about 'IT' arriving whether or not we're ready. Then, I listen to the super organised person who asked the question tell me how they have been ready since the end of October, and you can guess how that makes me feel.

Yet the reason I delay is that I take pleasure in getting ready for Christmas in December. I like shopping as the nights draw in and the lights in the shops seem cheery and inviting. I enjoy meandering around the Christmas displays choosing presents and being so delighted when I spy just the thing.  Sometimes I make the posting deadlines and sometimes I don't, but either way friends near and far get a Christmas or at worse a New Years greeting.  We always put the tree up late, after the December birthday is out of the way and the birthday cards have been moved from the mantlepiece.

The advent calendar made at brownies.  Each numbered envelope contained a sweet and when turned over there was a letter to make up a famous Christmas saying.

The young Follies have been a great help this year and I have been able to delegate Christmas cake decoration and mince pie making.  They have enjoyed making paperchains and decorations in the weeks holiday from school.  We have an artificial Christmas tree due to allergies and asthma amongst many of the Follies, but this year there is not the space to put it up.  Yet it didn't feel right without the tree. So, yesterday 4 Follies and a Folly Friend made a dash to the DIY store where we found a blue tinsel tree and decorations all reduced. What fun choosing and colourmatching we had! 

The Christmas cake iced and decorated by Folly 3. It is the best decorated cake we have ever had!

And yes, the day before, the day before Christmas I am ready - and I think it is the earliest ever!
 

Local mistletoe bought just today from 2 young boys selling this from their garden in the village.

 

Of course I still have baskets of ironing and washing and a bathroom which needs cleaning but I don't include such details in being ready for Christmas.