It must be getting near now, the Coca Cola advert was on the television today, I noticed 2 christmas trees up in town too today.

My mum surprised earlier when I commented that it was nearly time to put the Christmas tree up!

Blearrrgh, no, it isn't, not for ages....

Two words......

"BAH" & "HUMBUG"!!!!!!!!!

Ebenezer Bag x

No, it's weeks away yet. And I'm arranging to have 48 hours in every day in December to cope !

I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit

I'm starting to get into a bottle of Muscadet!

What a good idea! I think I may do the same as I'm already becoming double booked throughout December.

Actually Christmas started in August here, because the day that we got back from holiday, our local Premier Inn had a sign up advertising Christmas parties. And they've had a tree up outside for weeks.

YAYAYAYAYAYAY

I love Christmas!!!!!! And was just about to post something in somewhere like random comments about my uncontainable joy.

It IS annoying how busy it is though, I'm trying to organise my birthday party atm (very scary, first one I've done in two years - last year was a surprise party ) and it's becoming very stressful because everybody is far too busy, and it's really hard to find a couple of days which all 15 people can make

Why do I even bother...

But anyway, CHHHRRRRIIIISSSTMMAAASSSSS

And guess what I'm eating right now? Homemade christmas pud. Yummo.

I love Christmas

I do a lot of handmade stuff - cakes, cards, gifts, decorations etc... and I started this weekend with felting some gift-tags

Next weekend the kitchen will smell of brandy, fruit, butter, cloves and spices when I make the cakes (some are gifts).

I like the idea of a winter festival to break up the long, dark days.

I haven't seen the coke advert yet. Christmas doesn't start until I have witnessed the coke advert!

Lucid

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Christmas trees are on sale now at the Garden Centre, and Santa arrives on Saturday.

No it isn't

Nice poem, DCMB

It can't be Christmas already! Seems like only a few months ago we were lighting the Advent candles and singing 'Christmas is coming'.

Our local garden centre has its lights up already though

Ahhh Christmas - that means I have to perform carols I have never heard of like sleigh ride etc... in the near future.

I hope this years concert feels christmassy unlike last year. I had never heard of 80% of the choirs 'christmas' songs that my orchestra were accompanying.

In all honesty christmas is just good for getting some time off college. Other than that it is just the country's annual money making scheme.

My son came home from church on Sunday with a script for the nativity play, he is to be Casper a King, and has quite a few lines to learn.

Not sure how I feel about Christmas, not going to be the same knowing that we don't have my sister around, she loved Christmas, and used to go all out for it. Me I have never gone overboard, there always seems to be so much work. I am with David people forget the real meaning of Christmas.

ET

OK, I guess, for the shops to be showing Christmas advertising now, it's too early for the Coca-Cola ad though...

Yuk.

Used to love it - going off it big time now.

I'm with Bag - BAH and HUMBUG..

The shops will soon be full of poinsettias...

Some religious purists say that Christ should never have been dragged into the pagan midwinter festival in the first place!

We have had such a miserable year with deaths and redundancies, that I am determined to give the children a lovely Christmas, ( and that doesn't mean lots of dosh), and make it as happy and cheery as possible for my MUm. I also have to work the early shift on Christmas Day, but they will cook the lunch whilst I am at work.

I got taken ice skating by my housemates at Cribb's Winter Wonderland this weekend... My reaction on arrival was: "My God, there are Christmas trees everywhere!" (like, a forest of them). The funny thing is, I wasn't really thinking about Chrismas per se. It was just fun to go ice skating. (Particularly as I'd never been before...!)

I don't suppose I'll really get proper Christmassy feeling until I head home. Even when I started shopping for presents I was focused on getting presents people would appreciate, no that glowy-happy-joyful-Christmassy feeling.

I hope this isn't the beginning of the end...

I had Christmas pudding tonight!

Some of you might have realised that I tend to celebrate Christmas months in advance... it begins with the soft humming of Jingle Bells in the late days of spring, and from there it just escalates



Went to the garden centre today to have a look at the trees and decorations, and tomorrow the Christmas Market will be setting up in the city centre, so it will be continental food all round!

I saw the Coke advert on Saturday and suddenly *everyone's* facebook status was something to do with it. Just hearing it makes me feel so festive! My husband (a guitar teacher) has started teaching Christmas songs in schools. It's definitely nearly Christmas! Woo!!

Yes, but if you go inside the mall, half of the trees are palm trees

Wouldn't it be lovely if no-one had any Christmas stuff on sale until 1st December. It would make it so much more Christmassy when we got to December, and we wouldn't feel under pressure to start planning in November when we've only just had 5th November fireworks.

Or at least until Advent Sunday. Everything has become earlier to encourage us to spend, spend, spend - but that's not what it should be about. As someone said earlier, Christmas has been hijacked by the shops, and we are all the worse for it.

I hate the way everyone celebrates before Christmas now, so that come Boxing Day we're all into Sales mode. Bring back the old days when Christmas to New Year was for celebration, and we had sales in January! Women up and down the country work hard to prepare for Christmas Day, but instead of that being the prelude to some fun, they then find they've missed out - all the partying is over (apart from New Year's Eve) and it's time to hit the shops again.

And as for the poor shop workers - rushed off their feet for 6 weeks before Christmas, then straight into the sales - I think it's cruel. I am so lucky to work in a school and have had the chance to spend some time with my family between Christmas and New Year.

I can tell when christmas is really about to arrive - it's when people stop pitching up at the surgery with "flu" cos they're too busy in the last throes of preparation. Thank goodness my own family's tradition is to put the tree up on the 24th December...

Mind you, this year real flu has struck and rather earlier as well. *waits to see how the actual midwinter festival pans out*

I've got the radio on at the moment.

They're playing 'Do they know it's Christmas?'

My tree goes up on 24th December too. It's vin chaud, pain d'épices and marrons glacés for all the friends who come round to help decorate it. Then in traditional French style, we start the meal at around 22h00 on 24th (although officially Christmas day is 25th, French families have their main Christmas meal on 24th - usually lasting until very late / very early depending on how you look at it - we call it the réveillon - the 'staying-awake-party' I suppose).

Whilst I won't decorate my house until 24th - I did notice that the various town squares have the little Christmas market huts appearing on them and the huge old fashioned merry-go-round has been installed by the fountain in the main square - so in a few days, it'll be hot chestnut sellers everywhere and twinkly lights (along with stalls selling all kinds of rubbish you wouldn't buy if it were in a shop...) - but it's pretty to look at!

I drove past a house on my way home tonight which was covered in Christmas lights! Like one of those you see on GMTV!! It was a bit much even for me! We'll put our tree up in December sometime, maybe the second week or so, because we don't spend Christmas at home so we need to get our moneys-worth out of it in the run up.

I just don't want to do Christmas at all this year...

Well we've already had the Christmas Gift and Craft Shopping evening at the school on Friday 16th October...

and we have the Winter Wonderland Christmas Fair this Saturday (21st), I'm helping on the children's tombola,

donations for Christmas Hampers are being asked for and ...oh I must take some money down to the school tomorrow for a ticket for Father Christmas's grotto

We've just played Sleigh Ride at orchestra. Which means it is nearing Christmas.

You know what would cheer you up Rilla ?

You need a wee trip to the France to stand in a freezing cold Christmas market, drinking chocolat chaud à l'ancienne (basically melted chocolate mixed with cream)and eating ginger bread (not the hot chestnuts which always look more appealing than they taste I find... now if they were covered in chocolate...)

Get thee on a flight you big Mary!

Me neither.

What's wrong with Eurostar?
http://www.seat61.com/France.htm

Oh, what a lovely thought. Can I come too?

Sure you can! Bring Martha, we'll play a few wee jigs and reels oot in the cold!

Oh you've no idea how much I'd love that ... but I'm not allowed any more trips this year I have to stay home and get on with real life work and stop flitting about. Perhaps next year

Need a flute by any chance??

Next year it is then! You can meet ma wee doggie too (although he won't be so wee next year mind... )





Always! What's a session without a flute!

I bought my first Christmas present today. I have a great sense of achievement.

Who was it for?

My dad, which makes it particularly praiseworthy. Fathers are terribly difficult to buy things for.

Well done. At least you have the tricky one out of the way. The rest'll be a doddle.

I heard someone belting out the chorus of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody in the Guildhall shopping centre today. Just yards away the Santa's grotto is due to open for business tomorrow.
(Is it just me or has the concept of a Santa's grotto mushroomed over the last 20+ years? I don't remember seeing them at all when I was a child, but in recent years the length of the queue for the one at Brent Cross has been astounding. All that effort just to perpetuate a hoax!)