Well the tree is up, wrapping paper has been purchased and a steady stream of gift-order-confirmation emails are making their way into my inbox. You could almost say I’m right-on-track, but then I’ve yet to buy presents for the children’s teachers, or presents for anyone else but the children for that matter. Next to mum on my list I currently have “nice tea-towels”. Back to Anthropologie we go.

I hope, by the time this column comes out, that all gifts will be purchased and I can relax into the wrapping phase of the preparations. For now, I’m still researching the best pens for those with arthritis (dad still likes hand-writing letters) and debating whether my 20 year old cousin might benefit from a copy of “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” (I just feel everyone should own a copy).

Whilst we’re not an elf on the shelf household, it has been a busy time festivity-wise. We started our weekend at the church Christmas Fair, where the children did arts and crafts and I breathed a sigh of relief that a.) I’d finally taken them to something Christmassy and b.) They were doing arts and crafts, something wholesome, non-obligatory and completely unrelated to screens or sugar.

Maia sat with a friend making decorations whilst I helped Leo wind a piece of wool around a cardboard tree. It was surprisingly therapeutic and for a split-second I thought, that whilst I’m not a “let’s do arts and crafts” mother, maybe I could be. That thought lasted all of a mili-second, but it was nice to have.

Circling back to screens and sugar, after the church came the cinema. Maia and I went to see Wicked, which I acknowledge is not a festivity, but it couldn’t go unmentioned; the film is a beautiful, magical (literally), cinematic feat. I laughed, cried and ate far too much chocolate popcorn.

Next up on the agenda came the Wokingham Borough Schools’ Carol Concert, which Maia was taking part in, and her grandma and I attended. It was at this particular event I realised I may in fact need glasses.

“Can you see them clearly?” I asked my good friend Annie, peering up at the children trying to achieve certainty on which one was mine.

“Er yeh..you should get your eyes tested!”

I borrowed her glasses briefly and found that they did indeed help improve the clarity of my daughter’s face. After some squinting I could see where she was, and make out her mouth moving as she sang, but specific facial expressions were slightly more challenging.

Lively, joy-filled and heartwarming, Annie and I exchanged watery-eyed glances half-way through as our daughters sang their little hearts out to fresh versions of classic carols, accompanied by the excellent orchestra. The conductor, who led us through the event, presenting each song and instructing us when audience participation was required, was also brilliant.

Today is Maia’s school Christmas performance (the first of three, I attend just the one), Friday is Leo’s, then come the Christmas jumper days. Two different schools also mean two Christmas fairs and twice the Christmas admin in general. It is, to put it lightly, a gloriously busy time of year.

So for now it’s back to the gift ordering. Wish me luck.

By Angela Garwood

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