My Monday: counting down to Christmas

Festive preparations are well underway!

I've never been one to sweep all my Christmas shopping out of the way before December is barely visible on the horizon. I wouldn't say I was last-minute but I'm not the most organised shopper and you'll invariably find me barricaded into a room on Christmas eve, frantically whisking gifts into tissue paper and wondering why bottles of ale never get easier to wrap. This year, however, circumstance has forced me to plan a little further ahead: I've arranged a "fakemas" day and it dances, tantalisingly close, at the end of this week. I return to the bonny Northeast on Thursday and am going to share gifts, cracker jokes and merriment with my family earlier than is traditional.

With this in mind, my Monday has been a frantic rush to finish off the last little bits of present buying. Bristol's generous array of independent shops has made this even more of a delight than usual. There's something much more reassuring about walking into a shop where the vendor knows their trade and product as though it were their own flesh and blood. Asking for recommendations and finding good-quality items to give to loved ones feels so much more meaningful than grabbing a 3 for 2 smellies set from Boots.

With Christmas (and fakemas) fast approaching, I've had to cut back on the few indulgences I like to allow myself and this means missing Patrick Wolf at St. George's tonight, so this evening I am LISTENING to Sundark and Riverlight and moping while I begin my packing. Oh, how I wish I was there! Maybe next time. Still, to cheer me up I have the prospect of a week in Durham and Newcastle- so close I can almost taste the stotties and proper tea - and a thick stack of back issues of Mollie Makes to READ, thanks to Marie at Paris in a Bottle.

This WEEKEND has been a good one: it was Making Things Club last night (more on that later!) and I dressed my tree and got my first batch of Christmas cards posted to friends and family - but I'm itching to get back to the Northeast now! The next couple of days at work won't feel quite real.

I have a feeling next Monday will be a lot more exciting!