The countdown to Christmas

And so the countdown begins. I hear that it is less than 100 days to Christmas. Yes, it is only September, but people are already dropping the “C” word! There are two types of people: the organised ones – they have everything wrapped up with pretty bows and handwritten tags before Halloween; unlike the not-so-organised ones (such as myself) – we do a rushed shop on Christmas Eve and leave our wrapping until Christmas morning itself!

Why do we stress ourselves out so much over Christmas? Surely it’s the simple joy of giving and spending time with our loved ones that makes Christmas such a special time for us all? Yet I feel it’s not really what we give, so much as what we receive.

There was always one kid at school boasting about all the presents she or he received… and then there was me – completely thrilled with the apple and orange in my stocking (the same ones from the fruit bowl a day before)! Christmas is a competitive time now for everyone - a time when we suddenly start to crave the newest, most expensive gadgets and goodies, and for what? The five seconds of joy before a new and better edition comes out at New Year? Already, people are pre-ordering the latest must-haves in time for Christmas and when the stocks run out, PANIC STRIKES! It’s ridiculous!

Organisational skills aside, maybe it’s time for us to really look at what we’re doing.

Already the shops are stocking up on their Christmas goodies and people are buying into it. Flustered parents obsessing over what phone/laptop/tablet to get their 8 year old child instead of thinking about which family board game to pull out the cupboard. The whole feel of Christmas is becoming so commercialised now. The humble magic has long since disappeared. Perhaps that’s only because I’m all grown up now? Or perhaps a joyful Christmas with loved ones really has lost its magic, in favour of the sleek and shiny, rectangular contraptions? I don’t know about you, but I’m happy with just a nice pair of socks.