Sunday Confessional Four #blogvember

The making for beautiful wrapping and gifting

While I like to think that good cheer, the milk of human kindness and joy will be enough to see us through to the end of the ‘silly season’, I know it won’t be enough. No amount of extra yoga and breathing through your nose will be sufficient, by itself, to carry me across the finish line that is Christmas eve in one piece. I am going to need some help. If I am going to survive the kindy Christmas party, work Christmas party, other parties, end of year celebrations for bookclub, mum’s group, family gatherings, not to mention the birthdays and festivities, not to mention the shopping, gathering, cooking,  I will need gin. And wine. Lots and lots of wine. This is before I even think about how to tackle the day itself.

This Sunday I confess to my tricks to assist with the extra frivolity and carnival atmosphere that will invade our lives very soon.

Gin and tonic. Wine. Campari spritzers. Christmas cake and cups of tea. Sometimes all of the above.

Soon we all need to start preparing in earnest. I like to begin this madness by preparing my emergency stash. Bottle of gin. Chips. Several bottles of wine. Wine bottle gift bags. The gin is for me, as are the chips, the wine is to slide into a bag and give away. It is ready for all the people who will invite you round, turn up with a gift or present you with a cheery card when you haven’t factored them into your shopping list. In fact, I no long even make the list, I just get the wine in, get the bags and a sparkly texta and away I go. Walking out the door, pass by the laundry, wine, ready to go.

Every time I go to the supermarket now, I come home with at least one of the novelty Christmas-y chocolate packs. Gold ones. I wrap them or just stick bows on them. That stash occasionally gets too large and we have left over Ferraro all over the house for months into the new year.

There is another trick, although it is wearing a little thin in this house, is this CD. Or should I say three CD set!

I defy anyone not to be cheered by this festival of lounge music cheese – yes mum, I am looking at you. I do like the Bublé in the car so I can sing along and no one can hear me. No one will let me listen to it at home! With that preparation in place, then all I need to do is crank up the stereo, open the front door and try to remember which red frock I wore to which party last year.

Time to confess! How do you survive December with all its delights? Do you need a Bex and a good lie down just thinking about it? Tell me how you cope.