But as fate would have it, something happens every year which has me dashing to the stores at the last minute. Last year while doing my last-minute gift wrapping I broke a beautiful vase that I had bought for my mum so I had to run out and buy another. The year before that I had somehow forgotten to include one of my nieces on my Christmas list. The time before that I received an unexpected gift from a new neighbor who had moved in nearby so of course I had to reciprocate … and so on it goes back into the mists of time.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a Christmas fairy that wants me out there in the department stores getting squeezed by the crowds, Christmas carols ringing non-stop in my head and waiting in interminable lines; a mischievous sprite who takes gleeful pride in watching all those hunters of the perfect Christmas gift scramble around and line up in a test of patience and Christian spirit. And though so far I think I’ve done all the shopping I need to, I’m pretty sure I have a date with her this time too.