Best of AGT: Christmas Shopping Survival Tips!

Gift shopping is one of those exhausting, sometimes terrifying, activities that could be classed as an extreme sport! 

Here are some tips for surviving (and even enjoying) A Christmas Shopping Expedition.

1.      BE PREPARED  Take a page from Santa's book and make a list.  Include all the information you could possibly need.  Include: people you want to buy gifts for, what you are planning to buy them, where you will buy each gift from (if you know) and expected price.   Have alternative gift ideas just in case your plan goes awry.  Consider all possibilities.

2.      HAVE A PLAN This may sound the same as the first tip, but it isn’t.  Before you go anywhere, answer the following questions and decide on the best plan for your circumstances. 

·         How much do you have to spend? (enough to buy it all in one day)

·         Which stores are you visiting? Are they all in one location?

·         How much time do you have to shop, the whole day, a few hours, half an hour?

·         How big are the gifts? Will they all fit in the car?

3.      BE SPECIFIC Don’t fall into the trap of buying 15 boxes of shortbread biscuits in the hope that you are covering everyone and then realise you have forgotten ten people.  A personal gift that considers each person will be more appreciated.

4.      TAKE TIME Don’t wait until Christmas Eve!  Purchase some items as you see them.  Allow extra time so that if you can’t find the perfect gift you were planning to get you are not forced to give them a box of biscuits!

5.      EAT FIRST When we are shopping we spend far too much time in the food court.  We are also likely to spend money purchasing unnecessary snack foods or drinks while shopping for gifts.  So eat a proper meal and take some crackers in your handbag.   Alternatively, schedule time for meals and budget for them too. 

6.      STAY HYDRATED If there is a time you are likely to get a headache, Christmas Shopping is one of them.  Crowds, Christmas Music, Children, Sales, long queues!  AAAHHHH! Take some bottled water along with you.  Dehydration is one of the most common causes of headache and prevention is better than cure!

7.      DITCH THE KIDS If this is one time a babysitter is worth it, this is it! 

8.      STAY FOCUSED You are shopping for gifts, not for clothes or shoes or hats or jewellery.  You are not shopping for yourself.  The quicker you get in and tick each item off the list the quicker you can get home and relax.

9.      SMILE and RELAX Don’t let yourself be sucked into the stress of Christmas Shopping.  Yes, you have set goals and you want to get in and out as quickly as possible, but you can do all this without turning into a Grinch! You have done the hard work by making a list of people and gifts, planning which shops where and when.  You can afford to relax and enjoy the experience.  Smile at shop assistants and thank them for their help. Be polite to fellow shoppers, no matter how greedy and cranky they may seem.  Remember that Christmas is a time of goodwill and peace on earth. 

10.  WRAP IT UP Know when to call it a day.  If you are starting to get Grinchy, it might be time for a break. Have a coffee and reset before getting back into it.  If that isn’t working, go home and save the rest of the list for another day. 

There you have it. Get listing and enjoy the experience. 

So it's December..

Okay, NOW you can decorate the Christmas Tree and get wrapping (gift wrapping not rhyming).  It wouldn't hurt to get singing those Christmas Carols too. 

I have been a bit of a bah humbug this past two months.... you could have heard me saying things like.......

"It's October and far too early for Christmas Decorations on sale in the shops."

"No, I don't want to 'like' the photos of the Christmas Tree you have already erected in your living room."

"You shouldn't put tinsel around your dog's neck at any time of the year, but especially at the BEGINNING of November!"

"No, thanks! I don't want to participate in the Secret Santa." 

It isn't that I don't love Christmas!  In fact, if you have ever read this blog in December, you will know that I devote the entire month to being 'festive'.  I love Christmas! There are some aspects of Christmas celebrations that I don't enjoy.  I look back on how I used to behave around Christmas time and I feel a little sad.  You see, Christmas was all about the decorations, the gifts, the various events and activities.  I'm a regular churchgoing Christian and while many of the Christmas events I attended were affiliated with church, I rarely attended for the right reasons.  I attended because I was expected.  I attended to see people I knew would be there.  I attended because that's just what we did.  I also bought gifts for messed up reasons too.  We won't go there. 

I don't want to dampen anyone's Christmas Joy and I don't want to criticise your Christmas Traditions.  I do, however, want to say that Christmas is a special time for followers of Jesus and we need to be mindful of our attitude and motives behind our 'celebrations'.  My advice on this point is this: don't feel pressured into participation in any of the commercial activities associated with Christmas. 

As of today, I have managed to publish one post every week of the year so far.  That means that I am so close to meeting my posting goal for this year!!  WOOHOO to me!! I finally chose a realistic goal!  Only 4 more official posts to go!  We will see what the coming days bring. 

Keeping Up with Caring

Being a Carer of a loved one (LO) is hard.  At times it can be physically taxing, mentally exhausting, and fraught with all kinds of emotions.  You ride two emotional rollercoasters, yours and LO's. As the support person, you hold their hand as their mood swings from happy, to sad, anxious to sanguine and everything in between.  While doing this you are experiencing your own feelings of joy, sorrow, frustration, fear, grief and excitement.  Everyday can include triumphs and challenges.  Caring is like juggling two lives, yours and LO's.  Often Carers have so many "balls in the air" that they drop things simply to keep up.  Unfortunately, they stop caring for themselves.  They forget that if they are not firing at 100%, it is not only their world, but LO's world that will come crashing down. 

Are you thoroughly confused by all those metaphors yet?  My point.  If you are a carer you need to care for yourself as well.  Emotional/ Mental wellbeing is just as important as Physical wellbeing and as carers this is a difficult subject to discuss with others.  It makes sense to do exercises for your back or learn techniques to preserve your physical strength when assisting with transfers, hygiene, meal preparation and medications.  For many of the 'older' carers out there - let's face it, the majority of us are over 30, over 50, over 60.. etc - emotional/ mental health is one of those 'we don't talk about that' topics.  I'm not saying you have to shout it from the roof tops when you are having a bad day; in fact, you would be standing on the roof a lot if you did that.  I'm just saying, it isn't indulgent or silly to take time for your soul as well as your body and mind.  Here are some quotes that help me to stay calm and carry on (so to speak). 


"You can do anything.... but you cannot do everything!"

"Caring is being there, even when you want to be somewhere else."

"What's comin' will come and we'll meet it when it does." - Hagrid from the Harry Potter Series

"You cannot pour from an empty cup, look after yourself first."


You might also like to check out my new Pinterest Board devoted to CARING. 

Everything really will be okay.

The Princess and The Cupcake... a Remake!

A break from the latest themes of AGT to revisit a silly story I wrote 5 years ago.   Enjoy!

This story was originally posted on A Great Title on 16 September 2011.

**********

Dedicated to the BFF, the provider of the cupcake, my sunshine.

Once upon a time in a land much like this one, a beautiful princess woke up and glided towards the kitchen of her house.

She was listening to the talking fridge and considering what to have for breakfast when she heard.... a very small squeaky little voice... she couldn't quite make out what it was saying, so she followed the sound until she found the owner of the small high pitched chatter. 

The beautiful princess searched and searched and was quite amazed when she saw that the little voice was owned by...a cupcake.  Yes, a cupcake.

Do you know what the cupcake was saying?

It looked up at the adorable princess and said, "My Fair Lady... please, please rescue me from my miserable existence!"
Shocked, the stunning princess picked up the cupcake and said, "miserable existence? you are a cupcake what is so miserable about that?"

The cupcake frowned and explained, "well, Princess, I have lots of friends... we have been friends for a long time... well in cupcake time it is ages.  We were mixed together and spooned out together and we were even baked together!  Then we were frosted together and decorated with sugary jelly bits."

The princess was quite perplexed.  It sounded to her that the cupcake had a fairly ordinary sort of life, for a cupcake.  It didnt seem all that miserable to her, especially when the cupcake had undergone all these major life events surrounded by awesome friends.

"Then... a terrible thing happened" continued the cupcake.  "My friends started leaving me."
"Oh, no!" gasped the princess, "Why?"
"My friends, were being eaten!" replied the cupcake. "They were all moving on to the great pattypan in the sky"

"Oh, dear," said the princess, "all your friends left you?! Well, no wonder you are living a miserable existence.  But what can I do?" she asked.

"Fair Lady, Dear Princess, there is only one thing you can do." 

The princess and the cupcake looked into each other's eyes.  A great tingle swept over the princess as she realised what the cupcake was suggesting.

"I couldn't possibly!"

"But Princess, you must! Please, Princess, you must eat me! You must eat me, so that I can follow my friends and we can be together once more."

The princess nodded.  While she wasn't in the habit of eating cupcakes, especially talking ones, she knew what she had to do.  She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

The cupcake jumped inside and the princess chewed him up and swallowed him.

She shed a tear for the suicidal cupcake and made herself a slice of toast.

Then, they both lived happily ever after. 

**********

Remembrance Day 2016

Today is Remembrance Day in Australia. 

This is also known as Armistice Day when, all over the world, we commemorate the end of World War 1.  At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (every year) we take a minute to be silent and remember those who died in armed conflicts. 

In 2013, I wrote a poem for ANZAC day (25th April) to remember the brave soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Many of the men who landed at Gallipoli on 25/04/1915, died there.  11 November marks the end of World War 1, unfortunately, it was not the end of armed conflict around the world.  Wars, police actions, invasions and 'peace keeping missions' have continued to be waged between nations.  War is a sad thing caused by greed, arrogance, fear, oppression and hate (not necessarily in that order).  Today, I hope and pray for peace in our time. 

This poem was originally published on A Great Title, 25 April 2013. 

THANK YOU FOR THE ANZACs

(ANZAC DAY 2013)

By MH

Thank you for the ANZACs

Thank you for the boys

Who bravely disembarked the ships-

Ambushed on Turkey's shores.

Thank you for the soldiers 

Thank you for those kids

They volunteered and defended

Our freedom-never stripped.

Thank you for their courage

Thank you for those men

Fighting for freedom and for peace

Their stories ended then.

Thank you for Survivors

Thank you for their safe return

They tell us of their hell on earth

From this we hope to learn

We are very lucky

We never will forget

The sacrifice of millions
For Peace - we don't have yet!