They’re putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on.”
The song also unfolds personal loss and pain but it is on the opening Christmas link that I would like to dwell.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that the trappings of Christmas seem to appear earlier each year, though, on reflection, perhaps they don’t.
Perhaps that feeling is just part of the annual jolt of realisation, the sudden need to have everything done by Christmas.
A similar feeling applies to Easter, with its early availability of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns, but it lacks the Christmas urgency.
I’ve certainly been guilty of what must be a tradesman’s horror: “We’d like it done by Christmas, please.” I’ve certainly said that a number of times over the years and in some cases it has happened. In others, it has been met by a response which is not actually dripping with Christmas spirit.
We’ve got in early this year and most of those “before-Christmas” jobs are completed or are works already in progress. I may well escape having to utter the tradesman’s horror this year.
The garden I have tackled myself and, while I have hacked the wilderness back to what could be called a civilised state, I realise it will require ongoing maintenance to hold its looks until Christmas. If I fail – not really an option – I could perhaps just drape all the plants with tinsel.
Weeds are extremely quick off the mark; they seem to require just one day to reappear. Would that the desirable seeds would sprout as willingly!
For those who need guidance in the run-up to Christmas, there is plenty of online help. I conducted a quick search and found “6 Tips to Get Everything Done by Christmas”, “Top 9 Things to Get Everything Done by Christmas”, and “71 Helpful Things to Do Now to Get Ready for Christmas”. From this, it is abundantly clear that expert opinions differ widely on how many pre-Yuletide tasks are needed.
One site even created pre-Christmas time zones and allocated tasks to each: 2-3 months before Christmas, 6 weeks before, 4 weeks before, 2 weeks before, Christmas week.
According to this site, oneof the things I should already have done is to plan the festive decor. “Explore design ideas, trends and creative ideas you might not have considered before. Take inventory of what you have in stock and buy extra decor items.”
OMG! That puts me so behind! I’ve given absolutely no thought to that matter.
And for early November, this site suggests organising your Secret Santa: send invitations, set a gift budget and discuss the details for a smooth gift exchange.
And still to come: culinary planning, Christmas cards (though they probably needed to be posted six months ago), sourcing a tree, stocking the bar, buying paper hats and Christmas crackers.
I hope I’m not causing you panic here because that is not my intention but it already has me wishing I had a river I could skate away on.
And just in case you think you can score some early Christmas savings this year, the bad news is that you’re already too late to be early.
You needed to have done that on Boxing Day. Last year.
Fa la la la la la la la la.
