Mimi's Jingle Belles

Hello and good evening! I can hardly believe that it is my third Jingle Belles post already! So far we have taken it quite gently, and much of our work has been in our heads and on paper. Hopefully by now, like me, you have a pretty good idea what you are aiming for this Yule, what your Christmas is going to look, smell and taste like! This month we are moving a little more into the physical realm and are going to start making it all happen! First things first, and that is to stash away a little more money in your special hiding place. Isn't it nice to feel the little hoard grow? I don't think it matters how you plan to use it - if it is going to pay for all of Christmas, or one special gift for one special person, or the cake ingredients or whatever, it is just nice to know you have a fund that you didn't have last year. Next on the list is to find a space. Now I know this is not always the easiest of things, but what you need is a cupboard, a shelf or a drawer, or even one of those plastic crates. Something, somewhere, preferably not on show all the time where you can keep things. If you are buying a few gifts a month, or buying someone's Christmas gift when you buy their birthday gift, or if you have made some marmalade, or when we start making our cards...you need somewhere to put them, and if everything is together it makes it easier to keep track and watching it fill with the fruits of your labours will feel really satisfying. I need somewhere to store the cups and saucers I am collecting for making candles in, and the hot water bottles I bought ready to make covers for. Your third task this month is to decide on your approach to Christmas cards. Are you making them all? Buying handmade? Making just a few? Whatever you have decided, you need to choose your strategy now. For example, if you are making them all and need 100 cards, if you make 15 a month, perhaps on the 25th of every month, you will have them all made by September ready for writing in October and November. If you are buying them all or making fewer just apply the same maths...work out how many you need, and if you can face doing them in one go or would prefer to do a few at a time. Work out which month you need to start, and put the dates in your diary! So there you, three tasks for the third month of the year. Hopefully none of them too onerous, and just think, we are a month closer to the most wonderful Christmas ever!