Advent Calendar. Day 22. Oh to be a kid again....

Oh to be a Kid again.......

WHERE IS YOUR INNER CHILD?

Unleash your inner child

let him or her do a happy dance,

pull excited faces,

make snow angels

and scream its Christmas!

Wouldn't it be great to be a kid again? Lets forget the schoolwork, chores, scoldings, bullying, abuse and all the other crap that we may have been dealt as a child, lets relive the innocence and magic of Christmas.  The belief in something good and special.  The feeling of excitement when going to bed and not being able to sleep.  The moment when you sneak downstairs on Christmas morning and see the tree in all its splendour adorned with gifts.  The only day in the year you can eat chocolate at whatever time you like and not get told off!!

I got pretty close this year just by seeing the looks of joy on my nephew and nieces faces when Santa cam to visit and watching them rip off the wrapping paper from their gifts.  I was living Christmas through a child's eyes again.  I even played and sang along to Disney classics whilst cooking lunch.  I did try to blame my younger Sister for that though. :)

Advent Calendar. Day 5. Gifts.

"Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy - forgiveness.

To an opponent - tolerance.

To a friend - your heart.

To a customer - your service.

To all - charity.

To every child - a good example.

To yourself - respect."

~ Oren Arnold ~

Back in the day when I was a girl (ahem, a few years ago) Christmas gifts were very different to how they are now.

We had our Christmas stocking with a satsuma, nuts and sweets...with the threat of a lump of coal if we were naughty, which of course I never was.

One year all I wanted was a Sindy doll (much prettier than Barbie) and I had a readicut rug making kit!!  I tried so hard to look happy.  It took me a good 12 years to complete that damn rug!!!

Mum and dad would hide the presents around the house and one year mum hid them in the ottoman where she kept the clean towels.  We of course found them and by Xmas day had read our new Beano annuals from cover to cover!!  No fun to be had that Xmas day. Serves ourselves right for being so nosey.

I have always enjoyed buying gifts for others  and even as a child I remember saving up my 60p a week pocket money to buy things for my Parents at Xmas.

We had a gift shop locally that ran a Xmas club and I would pay so much each week to save up for Royal Doulton figures and jars which Mum loved. Dad would have another addition to his model car collection.  I now have all the things which myself and my Sisters bought Mum and Dad after they died :(

So what is the perfect gift? I'm the sort of person who if I want something I buy it. (if I have the money of course.)  So I try and buy gifts for people that they probably wouldn't buy for themselves. Something that shows that I thought of them, not needing to be expensive but bought with love.

I do have a tendency to go a bit bonkers at times and have to reign my Xmas shopping habit in!!

I'm sure that I don't get it right all the time, but I love trying.

So If you are in receipt of a pressie from me this year, just remember, I thought about it :)

Lovely faces receiving presents....