Strutting to the counter with my parcels, I couldn't hide the self-satisfied smirk that spread across my face.
Normally one to avoid conversations at the post office in a bid to get through the to-do list faster, today I was imbued with a sanguine spirit that saw me commenting on the weather and remarking on the new staff uniforms in a desperate bid to encourage the teller to comment on my Christmas wrapping.
Which, of course, she didn't.
For her, eager-beaver Christmas present posters are no doubt a dime a dozen, taken for granted at best and scoffed at for their industry at worst.
But for me - the reigning Queen Bee of last-minute (or last month) present shopping of any sort - my presence at the post office in the first week of November was nothing short of extraordinary.
Although I have to admit that along with the Christmas parcels went a birthday present that was three months late, and a new baby present that was bought months ago in a fleeting moment of organisation but should have been posted last week.
Given this is more my signature style, I decided this year to break with tradition and be the first instead of the last to get things done.
It's not that I don't love picking and sending gifts, it's just that I like to do it in a relaxed frame of mind at a slow, enjoyable pace. Like most people, those moments seldom arrive.
Instead of a highly personal, well-thought-out gift arriving the day before Christmas, what happens with me instead is something grabbed artlessly at the last minute and posted one minute after that last minute, resulting in a newly minted habit of mine to send 'Happy New Year' gifts instead of Christmas ones.
I market this gift to friends and family as being a hugely original, novel idea that ensures my gifts are always that little bit special, separate from the rest and an unexpected surprise when the scrunched-up wrapping paper is already kerb-side for recycling.
Of course everyone sees through my thinly veiled excuses and sees me for the disorganised person I really am. Which is why this year, I'm gunning for the biggest haul of brownie points in recorded history.
The trick to really impressing people with anything you do in life is simply to under-perform consistently for long enough that an average performance becomes rather spectacular.
Now all I need to do is make sure I get out on to the mean pre-Christmas streets and get sorted for all the people I need to give gifts to in person.
The gauntlet is down - but can I run it?
Eva Bradley is an award-winning columnist.
