Well pantomime rehearsals are finished – if I don’t know it now…it’s too late as our first couple of performances are today, HELP! Which also means Christmas is rapidly approaching, HELP!
Every year I promise myself I’ll be way more organised the next year and here I am just as unorganised as last year. No Christmas cards done, yes I’m still one of those old fuddy duddies that send out actual cards, I don’t know about you but I love getting things in the post and these days it’s great, as all our bills are on line you know that you have a 90% chance that what you’re opening is going to be nice!
My next moan…Presents… kids = easy, they’ve been telling you what they want since September! The big problem is coming up with ideas for the grown ups, especially the more grown-up, grown ups. And I’m in that group, I really don’t need another ornament to dust, thank you very much!
On the plus side us gardeners are quite easy to sort out present wise…we always need the things we “use up”, labels, tying products in many forms (soft rubberised, raffia, clip hoops, hemp twine, coated / non-coated wire …there’s many!), strimmer line, moisture retention crystals, slow release fertiliser all really useful things to go in a “hamper”. That could be any type of container (tin, wooden, card board)…or actually a container – i.e. for a plant! Personally I’d go for a wooden trug, not only do they look special (if a little Miss Marple-ish) but are really handy in the garden. Solar lights go down well, so easy to use, good value and there’s some great designs out there. What about a thermal mug, maximum/minimum thermometer, kneeling pad (there’s some funky ones out there! Outside clock, mushroom growing kit, bird feeders/nesting boxes, hi-lo adjustable hanging basket hook – all useful.
There are a couple of items that have really caught my eye, large garden mirrors that are in an attractive frame , and landscape wise work really well creating the illusion of extra space. Potato harvesting scoop, no more stabbed potatoes and miniature “sheep shearing” clippers fantastic for dead heading bedding.
Dare I say “Happy Christmas Shopping” or maybe “Break-a-Leg” as it’s our first panto show!