all i want for christmas is loads of presents, i mean, yooooouuuuu

Christmas is coming up and though we aren't of the ilk, we do celebrate as a kind of leftover habit from my christian days. One thing is for sure, for me, raya celebrations do not really compare to christmas - and i'm talking from a purely superficial point of view. When it comes to presents, decoration, songs and spirit, Commercial Christmas rocks! Despite the worries the ulamaks have of raya becoming commercialised, they really shouldn't get too anxious. Nothing beats Christmas consumerism!

This year, because my sister, who celebrates Christmas, will be alone, we have decided to have Christmas Eve dinner and go the whole hog (pardon the expression). We bought a tree, four strings of orange lights so that we could thread the lights throughout the tree, lots of gold and bronze baubles, a pink feather peacock bird for one daughter and a big fat santa for the other daughter. We put it up in half an hour and have been adjusting the decorations every day since.

In the next couple of days I shall be getting presents for our family, which we haven't done for a few years. And I've already picked out ten different wrapping paper designs which will look best under the tree. We really feel the urge to treat everyone and I can't wait for everyone to gather round and open their presents!

I will be cooking a roast lamb, roast vegetables and a warm salad, and Panini will bring her delicious stuffing and dessert. Then we'll have coffee and open the presents and maybe settle down to some tv and aircon - ooooh! The simple pelasures are the best.

Meanwhile, my parents who are visiting my mother's hometown of Itea, Greece, will probably have lamb on the spit, cooked in their fireplace, with lemon, oregano and olive oil, lots of retsina, and good family company. The windows will be fogged up from the cold and at midnight the churchbells will begin to ring. On New Year's Eve, the ships in the little bay will sound their horns ro whatever ships have, and everyone will turn on their lights and crack pomegranates on their doorstep for good luck.

Our nanny is leaving for a couple of weeks, so I'm fitting in as many outings for myself before she goes. Expect two sides of me to come out during that time: the frazzled mummy-wreck and the zen yoga-mummy. Glamour mummy has long been put to bed, and so has intelligent conversation mummy (she sucks up too much vital brain and muscle fuel). I've recently made the decision to stop buying 4 inch heels, they cost too much and tend to put my back out. So, all you short guys out there, including hubby boo, can look me in the eye from now on...

To all you Christmas Celebrators out there, Merry Christmas!

Lovey, C