It's not startitis - yet

 

This weekend might mark peak 'preparation chaos' for this peculiar festive season for me. I have been refusing to look directly at the prospect of Christmas. 

Last week three things happened:

• it finally dawned on me quite how rapidly it was approaching, 
• I realised that my opportunities for browsing and impulse purchases were not going to materialise 
• not only do a lot of my presents need to be posted, but in a number of them, there is some handmade element that needs to be finished first.

And so, the dependencies transform a list into a number of action points, the postman (to whom I am forever grateful) is especially busy, and my weekend contains a couple of click and collect visits. Today even saw an in-person delivery from a local printing firm, who not only understand that sewing patterns should be printed onto light paper, and charged me a reasonable amount for three patterns I want to sew soon, but, on hearing that I was stuck in meetings until after they would have finished for the weekend, drove the tube to my house!

As a result, I have bags and parcels of presents and part presents and supplies for presents around the house in numbers that make it feel more like 10 December than 20 November, and I'm torn between over-whelm, determination to keep focus, and a mad desire to start everything!

I think part of it is (nonsensically perhaps) a wish to get every project to the same point - 'done' - so that I can wrap and label and post in one fell swoop. Not only is that not sensible (posting deadlines being what they are), it would leave me with an elves' workshop too full to bear. So prioritisation will happen; Otto will be finished, and wrapped and labelled and posted; the Lions will be wrapped and posted with the other bits that need to go with them; a couple of the 'next batch' projects will be lined up properly to begin; and gift tag arrangements for this year will be considered and made... and then we'll revisit and review next week.