Well, we’re in the final stretch now! The shortest day (blissfully sunny, with a nice crisp wind) has now passed into the longest night and I’m almost finished my Christmas prep.

I don’t think my list of Christmas traditions is all that dissimilar from many others, but sometimes just thinking about them all is nice to do too. In truth, I’m clinging to them a little bit more this year due to everything being a bit unfamiliar. Some of them I won’t be doing this year because I’m not near most of my friends and I’m travelling by train for Christmas, but they’ll bide until next year.

It’s not Christmas until I’ve:

• gorged myself on clementines
• watched the Doctor Who and Downton Abbey Christmas specials
• picked out and decorated the tree – medium, large or tiny – this year’s is the tiniest, off-kilter little thing
• wrapped a few packages in brown paper and mailed them, although I use tape, not string, Maria
• watched Love Actually and Die Hard
• listened to my favourite Christmas carols – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Ella Fitzgerald), The Christmas Song (Mel Torme), and I’m sorry, I know the song has a very bad, very un-PC ‘f’ word in it, but Fairytale of New York just completely shatters me in that final verse
• made cranberry sauce from scratch
• eaten gingerbread and shortbread cookies
• poured Grand Marnier into cranberry sauce, over the trifle biscuits in my annual trifle, and down my throat from time to time
• braved the crowds to get a few final things, no matter how well I’ve planned, there’s always something that needs picking up and it’s fun to get swept up in the bustle a tiny bit
• had orphan Christmas dinner with friends, even though we have Christmas dinners with our families too
• eaten Swiss Chalet’s Festive Special, at least once
• oh wow, I almost forgot chocolate!

And this has nothing to do with Christmas, but as you can see my Christmas tends to contain a fair amount of Alan Rickman, and I just love Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman (YouTube video).

Merry Christmas everyone, may your final run-up be relatively free of stress and full of love and fairy lights!