I can’t believe Christmas is next week.  I find wrapping presents such a chore now, maybe it’s just years of doing it, or maybe it’s because lack of time means getting them wrapped as quickly as possible.

I still have that childlike want for a perfect Christmas day.  That must stem from my own childhood, the anticipation, not knowing what presents we were going to get, the Dandy and Beano Annuals, which my own children still read.  We used to have a coal fire that my mom would bank up the night before to make sure it was still glowing enough in the morning to carry on burning. 

I stay up late on Christmas Eve to make sure the living room is ready for Santa.  In our house Santa has normally decorated around the house even more than before.  One year this happened after my friend’s dad had decorated our hall, stairs and landing for us.  My youngest son woke up the next morning and said Brian had been round and done it! 

I so love children’s innocence. When do we grow up and become cynical about life, or is that just me?  Maybe that’s why I love Christmas day so much.  It’s the day for forgetting everything else and putting family first.  No rushing around (apart from in the kitchen), no shops open and knowing that you only have to concentrate on trying to have the best day you can.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a magical Christmas day, however you celebrate it and a healthy and happy 2007. 

Here’s to us all.