The perfect christmas - what's yours?

Recently I have watched a number of programmes / adverts that have offered you an easy way to a perfect Christmas.  For example my favourite sewing channel would sell you the perfect sewing machine - around £800 - to make all of your presents and create your perfect Christmas décor - don't fret you can pay in 4 monthly payments and take a break during December to help you with other Christmas finances!  Then today I saw an advert which offered to sell you a hoover - yep a hoover - to make sure that your house is clean enough for Christmas - and they will offer you easy payments.  Then another advert encouraged you to save up for Christmas 2016 so that you can afford all of those demands from the children - you just have to pay an interest fee (trust me I searched high and low on the web site and couldn't find it - so it will be high!).  This particular company takes your money every month and then gives you the value - minus the percentage - in high street vouchers.  What is to stop you buying vouchers every month and therefore getting more for your money?

Now don't get me wrong - I appreciate that some families need financial help to achieve their perfect Christmas - but I am just posing the question - who defines perfection?  Is it our family experience?  Is it some form of myth that is perpetuated by the media and why should we feel as if we've failed in some way if our Christmas experience doesn't match that of the sitcoms / adverts etc?  Is it morally right that the poorer families of our community are encouraged / expected to go into debt so that they are still paying off their 2015 Christmas debt by the time Christmas 2016 arrives?  By the way, just in case you think that I am against all forms of adverts I did see one which I could agree with - their tag line is "The power of frozen".  I am not flying the flag for the company but one aspect of a perfect Christmas, for me, is the ability to take a breather and relax.  I think that the freezer comes into its own here - having "something in" means that you can chill - oh and enjoy those sitcoms where the perfect Christmas rarely happens in the end!



So - onto today.  This morning saw the (old) hoover and mop bucket out cleaning the house - with a load of washing thrown in for fun ( I know how to live!).  Being Monday, it was then time to get ready for the craft group - we were finishing off some felt decorations and patchwork tree decorations.  Today was rather special, however.  It was Michelle's 40th Birthday and I had bought a nice looking chocolate cake with sparklers to celebrate.  She has asked her friends and family to give her money rather than a present so that she can buy herself a new machine - I hope that she gets enough!  Talking of Michelle - she was not happy with her table centre and made a start on her sec0nd one - so I tried to rescue it for her!

In terms of my crafting  I did sew a few hexagon snowflakes for my Facebook swap and finished the hand sewing on a Christmas present.  Otherwise I spent time making a start on tidying the craft room.  I say start - it will be a long job and I am dreading the point at which I decide to decorate the room and have to  empty it - yikes!!!!!