Christmas Shopping - How Do You Do It?

I prefer this to the manic shopping centres!

There's less than a month to go...

How prepared are you?

Are all your gifts bought? Wrapped?

Or, like me, have you still got EVERYTHING to do?

I love Christmas. The festivities, a little dusting of snow and the family all together. What I hate is the shopping beforehand. Both me and the Hubby have big families and with friends and their kids too, Christmas is a very expensive time of year. But it's not the expense that bothers me (okay it's not only the expense).

I hate Christmas Shopping. Just the thought of being in the shops in Nottingham searching for the perfect gift makes me shudder. I don't like that every shop is full of people. I can't stand that no one seems to have any manners. It's even worse when you have to take the kids with you. You need eyes in the back of your head, the side of your head, a telescopic eye would be even better. The annual shopping trip always ends up being more about stress than Christmas.

Back at the start of October I was doing brilliant with the shopping. I'd ticked off the women on my list when I bought jewellery. But since then there's been no shopping what-so-ever. Those same gifts are in the store junk room, not wrapped. I see a shopping trip into Nottingham looming in the distance.

But when to do it?

With the Hubby working weekdays and the kids being at home at weekends I don't know when I could squeeze it in. BP, being 10, knows the secret about Santa* but LP doesn't and I'm doing my best to keep it that way. But taking him shopping with us may burst that bubble, he's already asking awkward questions.

I'm thinking that Amazon and the postie may become my best friends this year!