81 sleeps before Christmas!

Was too tired to write last night- visited a fab. Christmas display at my local garden centre. There was Christmas music and wonderfully decorated Christmas Trees- I was so entranced. I bought a new garland for my stair banister- it's silver with white LED lights. I'll just have to remember to introduce it to our puppy over a few days before I put it up, so she'll (hopefully!) ignore it.

My puppy is a beautiful, but boisterous labrador. I have decided not to buy any further red decorations as, so far, she has chewed up a pair of red gloves, a red jumper and a pair of brand new red shoes

I don't know about you, but I'm always tempted to redecorate, or buy new furniture, intime for Christmas. I'm not convinced that it's the best time for that sort of thing, as shops obviously are aware of this trend and are all publishing their last order dates for delivery in time for Christmas- I'm sure there must be better times of the year to get the lowest prices for items such as sofas, TV's etc? What do you think?

Still, I may just buy some paint and spruce up the kitchen....

Back to bargains, I've had notification that Currys have a sale on. They seem to have some good prices on microwave ovens (I know because mine has broken an I need a new one), and they stock the new range of iPods and game consoles such as the XBox Elite.

I should be able to find the predicted top toys for the UK in about 5 days time- I keep being asked for this so I will publish information as soon as I have it. Just for your information, the three toys my youngest son (aged 7)seems most keen on are:

1. Eyeclops

2. Nintendo DS Console

3. Spy Gear Spy video car

He also loves anything to do with Pokemon

Stockings, chocolates and other goodies!

I've noticed that a lot of shops have got their Christmas chocolates in stock, and a few have got some good offers. I've seen the Christmas stockings with chocolates and the large selection boxes at 2 for £5.00, and the medium selection boxes at 2 for £3.00. The large tins of chocolates are also beginning to appear. I bought early last year, but did notice that the price got cheaper towards Christmas as the supermarkets battled for the lowest price- not sure if this will happen this year though.

With 83 days to go I've now:

1. Set my budget

2. Listed the gifts I'm going to buy for family and friends

3. Had a look around the shops and online stores to find the best prices

4. Started to place orders/ buy gifts that I think are keenly priced at the moment.

I must say that some of the best prices for DVD's have been on the Play.com website. They have a sale on at the moment, and this, together with some great prices on the hot movies for Christmas (including The Simpsons Movie, Shrek the Third, Transformers and Harry Potter) make it a site definitely worth a look.

Looking forward to tomorrow as I'm going to have a look around the new Christmas displays at my local garden centre. I'll make sure I'm playing my favourite Doris Day Christmas album to make sure I'm feeling totally festive. With the nights starting to draw in I really feel Christmas is just around the corner!

Christmas Blues Already?

There are now 85 days to go to The Holidays!

I'm still raring to go, but a close friend of mine seems to have the Christmas Blues already. I was telling her about my Christmas blog and she said she was going to go away and put her head under her pillow and hope it would all go away! Why? Because she had recently gotten divorced and just the thought of Christmas alone is filling her with horror.

I realise that this is an issue for a lot of people. Christmas can be a fabulous time filled with fun and gift giving, but it can also be the most stressful time of year due for a variety of reasons.

My friend told me that she intends to go away this Christmas. She's thinking about getting some winter sun in the Canaries, or Egypt- her theory is that the sun will make it less christmassy for her as she's usually up to her neck in freezing cold weather in December (she lives in Scotland). She's searching now for prices and she's hoping that two of her other friends to go with her. I'm sure that she'll have a great time, and it just means that her Christmas will be different, but still fab, this year.

I've never been away for Christmas day, but for the last two years have been away the week before, getting home Christmas Eve. The first year we did this took the kids to Orlando. It was so magical with the festive decorations and the Holiday music playing in the parks. We saw The Grinch in his grotto at Universal which all but my youngest loved. We also went to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party and had hot chocolate and cookies watching the parade- that for me was the best! I was so organised before we went, and I ordered my last minute food to be delivered on 23 December- which my sister kindly put away for me. We arrived home early on Christmas Day morning, had a snooze and were up bright and breezy late morning for a busy Christmas Day.

The second year we went to the Canaries (Lanzarote to be precise). It was warm and relaxing, but for me not Christmassy enough. We had a good time, and flew back very late Christmas Eve to a car that wouldn't start. We got home at about 4:00 am Christmas morning - couldn't get to sleep because we were so worked up about the stupid broken down car and we were very tired through most of Christmas day. After that last experience we WON'T be going away and flying home Christmas Eve again!

Not sure how I feel about being away all over Christmas. There are some tempting places to go to. I did love Orlando at Christmas time, and New York looks so festive with the wonderful window displays and ice rinks. Skiing in Canada or mainland Europe would be great with all that snow. For some, the sun beckons and I know lots of people who escape to warmer climes, but that's not for me (or at least not this year!) If it were left to me husband though, I'm sure he'd say to forget the whole Festive thing, pack the bags and go find some rays!

Since I have had both good and bad experiences fitting in a break before the Christmas festivities begin, I've put together my top tips for making the whole experience as stress free as possible.

My Top Ten Tips for a stress free Christmas if you take a pre-Christmas break

1. Decide your budget (including your pre-Christmas break, spending money, presents, cards, decorations, food etc)
2. Make gift lists as early as possible (October or even earlier)
3. Plan your food menu for at least Christmas and Boxing Day (the grocery shops are open from 27th December), make your grocery list and buy non-perishable items early.
4. Put your Christmas tree up early to get the full benefit (this is easier if it's an artificial tree. Fresh trees can shed a lot of needles whilst you are away!)
5. Put your house decorations up as early as possible to get the full benefit or your efforts.
6. If you are happy to freeze meat and vegetables, or buy frozen, then these can be bought early and popped in the freezer. Just remember that if you have a frozen turkey and you don't arrive home until Christmas Eve, you may need to ask someone to remove it from the freezer for you before you get home. Fresh vegetables can be blanched then frozen.
7. If you must have everything fresh, then you could possibly order your fresh vegetables and meat online and have a friend or family member accept the delivery for you.
8. Complete your gift shopping at least two weeks before you go away.
9. Complete your gift wrapping and labelling at least one week before you go away.
10. Leave the final week before you go away for preparations for you break- checking tickets, packing etc