Holidays are coming...

Today, it is my sister’s Birthday. Happy Birthday Big Sis! This is good, not just for my sister who gets to open lots of pressies and eat lots of yummy food. But it is good for the rest of my family too. Why? Because, my dear friends, in our household my sister’s birthday marks the beginning of the official Christmas Countdown. Never mind the opening of the first window on your Advent Calendar. As from today, I have permission to get festive.
I admit, however, that I have been getting into the Yuletide mood for a few days now. I think it all started when I realised I had finished all my college coursework and made a real start on my Christmas shopping (thank Santa for Amazon). Okay, so I still have quite a few bits to get, but I reckon another online flurry and a trip to Oxford Street (an inevitable evil made a lot more bearable because I will be going with Mama Berry) and I will have got my St Nicholas act under control and can, well, enjoy it.
Let’s face it, the snow has helped. Yes, it has been very unhelpful in general, but nothing says Christmas like a sprinkling of the white stuff and getting cosy with a mug of hot chocolate in your pyjamas. Then, on Saturday, Him Indoors took me to the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. Think a German market with plenty of Bratwurst, mulled wine, ice skating and a fun fair with a couple of pop-up Bavarian pubs thrown in for good measure. A perfect family day out for all, surely? Hell, I could have easily spent the day there despite the cold – shopping, fun, food and drink, all in the same place.
Then, yesterday, I was listening to the radio whilst catching up on my housework in a bid to clear the way for the Christmas decs when it happened: The First Christmas Song of the Year. Okay, so the shops have been playing various versions of Jingle Bells for weeks already, but the radio? A clear indicator that it is time to get Merry. Oh ho ho!
So I might have had my first Gingerbread Latte of the season a fortnight ago, and I admit that I started drinking mulled wine on my birthday last month. But, today it is official.
Bring on the Mince Pies.