So are you ready for Christmas then? 

As I write this, and as I told my toddler at bedtime, it’s just a few more sleeps until Father Christmas will have delivered all the presents! I am soooo excited – probably more so than my son. I just love Christmas – always have done and probably always will.  

I am a lot more prepared for the ‘big day’ than I thought I was going to be a couple of weeks ago. It’s funny what you can achieve when under pressure and panicking that you haven’t enough time to purchase all your presents, write and send out your cards and make all the edibles you promised people you would make! Thank goodness for the Internet because I think all of my Christmas gift shopping has been done online, and I still had to order a couple of last minute presents today with the promise by companies that deliveries will be made in time by the 24^th. Let’s hope so otherwise a couple of people will be without something to open on the 25^th and I will feel terrible. 

I didn’t mean to leave things so last minute. As I explained on my  last guest post, a lack of heating and hot water turfed me and my family out of our home for ten days, which put me behind somewhat. Then the last week and a bit has seen my youngest be in bad ‘elf (ahem!) with a really nasty cold, which has resulted in lots of sickness and lack of sleep for us both. It has also meant that we have been house bound for pretty much the whole time, which hasn’t allowed me much opportunity for browsing the high street and soaking up the festive atmosphere, let alone looking for some gift ideas! Hence why I have relied so much on the Internet for my present shopping!

One thing which had me fuming and worrying that I wasn’t going to have anything to give him, was my toddlers main present, which I actually ordered and paid for at the end of October. I chose it because it was a special deal from a well known daily deal company and as soon as my other half and I saw it, we knew it would make the perfect gift for Burton. We liked it too, as it was more than half the original price! So, I bought it with good faith and was told that it would take at least 28 days to reach our home. I started to worry the week before last when it still hadn’t turned up, but I hadn’t received any email notifications about it so assumed that no news was good news. However, last week I decided to visit the website and find a contact phone number to see if I had missed it being delivered. There I found the news that every parent dreads with less than two weeks to go until Christmas – the deal was no longer on and no ride on car would be wheeling its way to us!

Anyway, the website mentioned another company that sells the product for the same price, so I quickly ordered one and asked if it would be arriving in time for Christmas. I was told that they didn’t want to guarantee it but there was a good chance it would. Great, I thought, Burton can still have his present. However, this morning I received an email telling me that the ride on cars were still at the port and delivery in time for Christmas was now looking unlikely *sighs* . So after discussing with my other half, we decided to order something completely different which is guaranteed to be delivered in time (a wooden train track set), and we will keep the ride on when it arrives for a birthday present. 

I wonder if Father Christmas gets this much hassle from his helpers in his toy workshops? Maybe he was also last minute Internet shopping today!!