shopped out

On Saturday I braved the hoardes and took on Ikea and Bluewater to do my Christmas shopping. Ikea was a breeze but by the time we got to Bluewater the car park was heaving, Carluccio's had a queue the length of a bus and I was dying of thirst. Mum and I struggled on, stocking up on funky wrapping papers and heading out into the throngs to work our way down my list. Yes, I had planned ahead, I had a list. It was surprisingly helpful as it meant that I already knew which shops I needed and so just had to find them.

We managed to stop for lunch at 3:00ish, which having made the mistake of having no breakfast, could not come soon enough. A delicious porcini lasagna and a glass of red later, and I was dashing around, picking up the final presents and finding some fabulous party poppers and indoor sparklers in The White Company.

We drove home in the dark, ranting about the inability of people to drive in the correct lane on the motorway, amongst various other bug-bears, and was back in time for dinner. Then I dashed out to meet Sam, Donovan and others to celebrate Sam's birthday at Saqqara. Unfortunately by this time I was starting to flag and by 11pm I was having difficulty keeping my eyes open and so went home to bed, to sleep. Bliss.

Yesterday was wrapping day. The cats were asleep so it was the perfect time to get out the ribbon. By lunch time I was surrounded by neatly wrapped presents with bows, gems and name cards. So far I'm feeling fabulously organised & tonight I get down the tree ready for Thursday.