Rollup! Rollup!Rollup!.. It's time for Hoopla.

Jientje over at Heaven in Belgium has Tagged me for a meme.. But it isn't really a meme , it is a 'hoopla' *sigh* so if you are confused why don't you pop over to Jientje's and have a look see...
The rules are the same as all the meme rules. ( except this meme isn't a meme it is a Hoopla) Tag someone blah blah blah . tell them blah blah blah etc etc etc.. oh and you aren't allowed to cop out of tagging people either.. It is in Jientjes rules...so there ner ner..

12 random things about myself that have to do with Christmas...

1. I love Christmas!!! But I don't like the commercialism of Christmas in fact I hate that side of Christmas.. So for years now I have only ever given presents to the children.

2. I am so envious of 'those people' that have bought and wrapped all their Christmas gifts by June.. Like how is that possible?? I am so hopeless when it comes to storing gifts..*sigh* I just have to give the pressies straight away.. For example I took the offspring Xmas shopping and then when we came home I promptly gave him one of his pressies right then.. Over the course of 2 days I just randomly gave him his pressies.. ALL OF THEM.. ( told you I was hopeless..)

3. I love cooking for Christmas. Not the ' sit down roast meal in 35 degree heat kind of silly cooking'. I love the planning and then the preparation of special festive food, Australian smorgasbord summer food.. Like 'the potato salad from hell' and making the cheesecake to die for..( I will post that recipe later) that kind of cooking just 'floats my boat' hehehehe.

4. When Veronica was two, we were house-sitting for a friend and on Christmas morning I wasn't feeling very Christmassy at all.. A friend turned up with a bag of cherries, a tub of ice cream and a big bottle of red fizzy cordial. I was thrilled to bits and ended up having a great day.

5. Veronica woke up on Boxing day asking," Where's all the presents today then???"

6. Christmas morning with Veronica:-age 3.. Veronica had opened gifts from Santa, gifts from interstate Rellies etc etc. When she asked," Why there weren't any gifts from us?" I was stumped.. I can't remember how I answered that question.. but I tell you from that year on Santa only put one pressie under the tree.. Bastard wasn't going to steal my thunder again hmmmph...

7.One Christmas Veronica would have been about 6 and Mum bought her a Barbie, Doll's house. Our friend 'Red' (a hairy biker type) spent hours helping Veronica and her friend put this very complicated bright pink doll's house together. (He made me promise not to publish the photos.) hehehehe... Now who has a scanner I can borrow????

8.We used to have an 'open house' Christmas eve piss up.. errr social gathering lol. Every person had to bring a packet of Balloons or three because I liked to fill the children's room with balloons. One year we blew up 750 balloons. Veronica had to wade through chest high balloons to find her pressies and they were over Dave's head.. *sigh * It was great...

9.I can remember when I was a child how hard it was to get to sleep on Christmas Eve. I can remember lying in my bed, covered only by a sheet because it was really hot and just knowing that I would never ever be able to go to sleep.. I can still remember the excitement when I woke up at the crack of dawn and realized that It WAS CHRISTMAS!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY

10.Mum and Dad used to put our presents at the foot of our beds and we were allowed to open them as soon as we woke up, as long as WE WERE QUIET... There were presents under the tree in the lounge room and we had to wait until everyone was awake before we could open those..I can still remember the thrill of going to the tree and seeing my name on some of those wrapped gifts..(and counting them to make sure my brother and I had the same amount *sigh*)

11.I love the smell of a proper Christmas tree and how the tree seems to fill my small home with the smell of Christmas.. The spouse hates Christmas trees and the bloody mess they make grumble grumble grumble, dropping bloody needles everywhere grumble grumble grumble.. Hehehe but he still goes and cuts me a pine tree that, "he's had his eye on for a while"..

12. So this is number twelve YAY.. Thanks Jientje I enjoyed doing this. Once I actually sat down and Started to think about it properly...I do love Christmas....