Editorial: Count me an excited child

'I would sometimes sneak out of bed at night and sit in the lounge in front of the Christmas tree lights watching them twinkle.'

I'm proud to admit it - I'm still enchanted by the magic of Christmas.

It sounds corny, but I do get nostalgic for my childhood at this time of year.

Some of my happiest memories are of Christmas. I would sometimes sneak out of bed at night and sit in the lounge in front of the Christmas tree lights watching them twinkle.

I remember on Christmas Eve excitedly putting out a glass of milk and bikkies for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer.

I would lie in bed vowing not to go to sleep because I wanted to hear him come down our chimney. Sleep always won.

One year, he left sooty bootprints on our carpet - much to my and my brother's excitement, we had the proof.

Now that I'm an adult (allegedly) a little of my childhood enchantment has made way for practical, boring things such as Christmas shopping, organising food to feed lots of people and hoping that I have bought the right presents to keep everyone happy.

I went into Bayfair on Saturday morning, as soon as it opened, to buy a few last-minute gifts, and the amount of people who had the same idea was astounding.

In Saturday's Bay of Plenty Times Weekend, Steve Ellingford, Bayfair centre manager, said 369,770 people had been through Bayfair since the start of the month. It would be the mall's busiest December in 12 years if the trend in higher foot traffic continued.

It's good news for retailers and it's good news for the Bay, especially since online shopping is finding favour among computer-savvy shoppers.

However you are spending Christmas day, have fun, stay safe and don't eat too much. I hope you all get what you asked Santa for, and, more importantly, I hope you spend some quality time with loved ones.

Our hardworking editorial team will be on deck throughout the festive season. We don't publish a paper on Christmas Day, but keep up-to-date with the latest news at bayofplentytimes.co.nz or our Facebook page.

They say Christmas is really for the kids, so I've decided to stay a kid for a long while yet.

Happy Christmas.