Ten Joys of Christmas

1. Opening the box of Christmas decorations. Familiar, tacky, cherished objects. Love our idiosyncratic fairy lights that flash in a complex and unfathomable rhythm.
2. The satisfaction of surveying a pile of freshly wrapped gifts (yet to be savoured this year).
3. Carol singing. An endless supply of songs in the shower and beyond. I catch myself humming We Three Kings in July and have to stop up the festive flow.  Late November, it all comes flooding out.
4. Finding the right gift (also a source of significant anxiety).
5. Observing children’s reactions.
6. ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ – read by my Dad.
7. Believing in the magic.
8. Feeling around with your toe for the weight of a stocking on the end of the bed. Just the memory of that feeling sustains me now.
9. Chocolate and clementines for breakfast.
10. Feeling like you could be in another century as you stamp along in the frost and hail  passersby with a jolly ‘Merry Christmas’.