There are not as many Christmas cards coming through the door this year. I presume that email and Facebook messages are taking over from the old card writing tradition. One card that did stand out this year had the following message:
“Enclosing your pressie for 2010, €10 for each of my eight best friends to Vincent de Paul.” It wasn’t one of my eight “best friends,” I don’t think men have that many, but to Mrs Cleere. The receipt was even included, just in case we did not believe her.
It sounds like a good idea and I am sure the St Vincent de Paul will be delighted to get the €80, but it is not something I can see myself doing. First of all how do you decide who is in the top eight? Could it be extended to 10 or reduced to six? Do friends who did not make the list know and do they care?
Next there is the amount of the contribution. I don’t know who came up with this formula for calculating the value of a gift. If a close friend is due a tenner’s worth of a present, what is the rate for everyone else? Is it €5 for a not so close friend, €20 for a relative, €30 for a son/daughter, and €40 or €50 for husband/wife/partner?
That does not seem very much, but you can always say it is the thought that counts, not the value of the gift. And the best of luck to you with that line.
The hot tip on how to make your present look expensive is to put a bit of work into the wrapping. There are plenty of videos on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=swuiAiellVg&NR=1 is a good one ) showing how to wrap a cheap gift professionally and make it look worth more than it actually cost. After all, it is the thought that counts, isn’t it?
Here is another cheap Christmas present tip, especially if you get caught out at the last minute. All you need is one of those little miniature drink bottles that you buy on an aeroplane, there are usually one or two hanging around on a shelf or you can pick one up at the local off-licence. Put it into an old picture frame, or if you have the time buy a new one in the Euro shop. Stick a “Break glass in case of emergency” label on the front and use that YouTube video to wrap it up nicely.
Despite Amazon and other online shopping sites it is a very busy time for all the local bookshops. I wonder how many presents have been held up in the post, due to the weather, and will not be arriving until the New Year? Some questions that bookshops have had to answer include:
“My daughter loved that Anne Frank book. What else did she write?” or “Don’t you have any teen books that aren’t about girls and boys?” Then there was the mother overheard saying to her daughter, holding up a copy of Les Miserables: “Look honey, now there’s even a book.”
Diet tips
Yes this is the season to be jolly, but it is also the season to put on weight. Here are a few tips to keep the pounds off.
1. Always eat protein with carbohydrates, it makes you feel full for longer. That means plenty of turkey and spuds, but lay off the roast ones.
2. Add lemon juice and vinegar to your food, the acid helps to burn off the fat. If that does not sound too appetising, just add an extra slice of lemon to your gin and tonic and an extra dash of vinegar to the salad dressing.
3. Fill yourself up with soluble fibre, so start the day with a big bowl of porridge for the breakfast.
4. Wait 20 minutes between the turkey and dessert. You can have that gin and tonic with the extra lemon during this time.
5. ‘Dry’ drinks are recommended. So dry red or white wines will help to keep you in shape.
To sum up: Have lots of meat, potatoes, porridge, lemon, vinegar, and wine and buy cheap, well wrapped, presents and you will come out of Christmas slimmer in shape and fatter of wallet this year.
Happy Christmas to all readers and next year cannot be as bad as the last few (or can it? ). I’ll give the last word on presents to Joan Rivers: “Remember, the one thing women don't want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husband.”
