ogQ!(U~$(KGrHgoOKjYEjlLmS1ctBJ1K-4Uyh!~~_7.JPG?set_id=81 "i-need-a-martini"){kind=avatar}
and spending megga bucks on their kids?
You know, it's a real off put thing isn't it or am I wrong?
I was born before WWII and so Christmas was a bit on the lean side, although my mother made beautiful presents for me. One year I found Father Christmas had left me a pink Tutu with a wand that had a sparkly star and a crown with a sparkly star.... I was about 5.
Another year when I was older I received a watch. 'Santa' (my mother) had to laybuy it so it would be paid off for Christmas.. I was about twelve and even today it happily keeps time
Now Christmas for me is waiting for my family to finally sell their property in Queensland and move down here to Tasmania. We have waited three years, and since I have not seen my son more than three times in the last 18 years you can imagine how much I want to share a Christmas with him and his family....
So have you been sucked in to believing you have to buy up big for the kids or do you keep within your means?
ref. acacia: "Champagne at 8 in the morning is a real challenge. it's great to drink it but . . there's a whole day stretching out in front of you . . . but I suppose if you drink enough then you can sleep through the worst of it."
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LOL! I am not much of a drinker anyways......so more of a 'sipper' . I value my brain too much
........don't think anyone would look forward to a 'cordial' or 'cuppa tea' Magic Christmas Morning 
What a great idea azure, might do the same for my two granddaughters when they move down it, they are much older but I think it would still appeal to them... an elf to watch they behave... fun
Yes, that's just about it acacia, before then it was a totally different experience... in fact it was on Boxing day that present were exchanged...
It's become somewhat mad now all because we have such great access to the media 
You know this talk about advertising is so right, it is the big problem with our society today... Have you ever noticed how many times you watch people stuffing food into their mouths and wonder why so many people now suffer from obesity?
It's astounding once you get your eye in at just how often we are made to watch people eat in advertisements. It gets worse over Christmas as we are exposed to those 'clubs' where you can save all year to get all the goodies you can eat at Christmas time...
most of the stuff is not healthy or good quality, and yet people feel they are doing the right thing...
What happened to a nice simple meal and a traditional pudding after? Isn't that enough?
Can I accept your invitation paints? It sounds so like fun
Boxing Day origins: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868711,00.html
..."...The day after Christmas was also the traditional day on which the aristocracy distributed presents (boxes) to servants and employees — a sort of institutionalized Christmas-bonus party. The servants returned home, opened their boxes and had a second Christmas on what became known as Boxing Day...."
An orange for Christmas........
A Christingle is a symbolic object, related to the pomander, used in the advent services of many Christian denominations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christingle
An orange in your Christmas stocking? http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1853/
