As the above title paraphrases a legendary David Essex Christmas hit you can probably guess what this one is all about!
Here is a pic from the family home just too needlessly labour the point:

Taking up the baton from my last post, I was finding this Christmas thing a bit of a struggle – I was working all the way up to day before Christmas Eve, so time was at a premium – those festive chores were eventually done by working them around the shift times of my job.
I finally banked all of the coins from my money bottle, and used the converted cash to fund a blitzkrieg shopping spree against the clock!
On the way I burned through two boxes of Christmas cards – after a couple of hours of high octane pen pushing, all of them bar one got distributed to the good folk at the Kingston Radio Station and my other friends.
A large proportion of the funds went on providing those vital Xmas staples. Cheeses, crackers, cake, meats, not to mention the vital component booze were covered by a last minute whistle stopper at the New Malden branch of a well-known supermarket chain.
The family wisely decided on roast lamb as the Christmas dinner of choice, and thankfully for me, there was not a turkey or sprout in sight!
Then there was the thorny issue of presents. Some pre-festive season planning meant that what to get each other had pretty much been decided. Those early on-line orders had been placed in advance, and the bulk of the gifts were received before the D-Day of the 25th December.
For me, most of the present acquisition shenanigans just involved exchanging funds with other family members.
By the time my Christmas leave started on the day before Christmas Eve, the pressure was off, and it was a just case of coasting towards the big day itself.
Present wise, it wasn’t a bad haul. I got a few novels featuring the ‘Nameless Detective’ by the legendary crime writer Bill Pronzini, the latest ‘Top Gun’ movie on DVD, and some much needed squash accessories.
So far the much promised kettle for my flat is yet to materialise – the plan is for me to make the purchase at a later date, so at moment, the prospects of enjoying a home brewed cuppa is still very much in the balance.
Christmas at the family home was a little different this year due to my Mums Illness, though we didn’t let it get in the way – the HRH speech (it was King Charles’s first one!) was viewed with the obligatory glass of festive cheer after a very nice Christmas meal, and the time honoured tradition of vegging out in front of the visual wonders that form Xmas TV was strictly adhered to.
Right now all I am doing is catching up with friends, and probably watching way too much of that Christmas telly.
Overall it went pretty well.
I hope the same can be said for your festive breaks – have a happy and healthy Christmas everyone, and remember, stay away from those darn sprouts!