So, whilst the Spice Girls are buying each other cashmere jumpers and
other lovely gifts from Tesco, the likes of Lulu, Gaby Logan and Nick
Hancock will be stocking up for the festive season at Morrisons. Well, I
hope they will be anyway and not sneaking off to the M&S food hall once
they’ve finished filming their advert!

I can see how Credit Cards cost us £94 billion, but I shudder at the thought. Even with all the bargains available online and on the high street, the cost of Christmas soon mounts up and many of us are still paying for it well in to the New Year. I hope you haven’t overspent?

I have the same dream every year, just before Christmas. It goes like this - it’s Christmas Eve, all the shops are shut and I haven’t got my presents. It’s such an awful feeling - what am I going to do? What are people going to think?

Luckily, the reality is always very different. Sure, I’ve still got a couple of bits to get, but I’m normally quite organised with my Christmas shopping and have it mostly wrapped up by the week before. I just don’t understand those people who leave it all until Christmas Eve afternoon, when the sale signs are already being put up in the shops, the shelves are half empty and the remaining stock’s looking a little sorry for itself. I remember when I used to work in Boots. All the staff would be looking forward to early closing, so they could get away and start celebrating Christmas and about half an hour before the store was due to close, you’d get people ambling in who’s spent most of the day in the pub and had decided this was a good time to do their gift shopping. I suppose it’s one thing if you don’t really care and are quite laid back about the whole process, but it’s quite another if you feel like I do in my recurring Christmas dream and you’re panic buying any old tat just so you have some presents before the shops close.

I hope you’ve all been organised, your gifts are all wrapped under the tree and you can smugly sit and drink mulled wine and eat mince pies on Christmas Eve, whilst those panic buyers snap up anything going - let’s just hope we’re not the recipients of their tat!

I feel sorry for shop assistants at this time of year. Not only do they have to deal with harassed customers, queues of shoppers and non-stop trade, but more often than not, they’re also often forced to dress up and get in the ‘festive mood’ at this, their busiest time of year.

How many times have you gone into the Supermarket in the week before Christmas to see all the staff dressed up as Elves and Fairies. It never ceases to amuse me - no, not because I’m cruel and having a laugh at their expense, but because quite often you’ve got a miserable, tired shop assistant dressed up in a ridiculous costume that simply doesn’t suit their mood! Of course, you also get the young ones (and some of the older ones to be fair) who take it in good part and really enter into the spirit of things. It’s a shame then, when you see them having to deal with an irate customer! Oh, how tempers can fray when Christmas shopping!

So, if you’re out and about doing your last minute Christmas shopping and the people serving you are dressed to the nines in festive attire, then make time to acknowledge, compliment them and wish them seasonal greetings!

I love the Soap and Glory Range and think if you have three friends who love it too, then it’s an easy way to get your Christmas Shopping a little further on! If like me, you tend to treat yourself while you shop, why not buy Soap and Glory for two ladies in your life and keep the third (free) set to pamper yourself after all the hard work shopping!

Kids have high expectations these days. Gone are the days when finding an apple, an orange, some chocolate coins and a yo-yo in their stocking on Christmas morning would have filled them with joy. Even party bags at children’s parties cost the parents a fortune these days, so Christmas is bound to be an expensive time.

Having said that, I was amused and a little shocked to read an article in The Times recently regarding kid’s letters to Santa. One child told Santa what they would like and were even kind and helpful enough to inform him that the said toy was available from Toys R Us for £19.99! I know it’s a sign of the times, but I think it’s such a shame that expectations are now so high and it also puts pressure on poor parents to find the money to keep the kids happy. I don’t think we should indulge them to much as they won’t know the value for money.

As for me, I’m making the most of my sons being too young to yet make extravagant requests. Sure, their eyes let up when we visit Toys R Us, but they are happy to play with the simplest most inexpensive toys. In fact, my two year old’s only request from Santa this year is for an umbrella! I’m sure Santa will deliver and I’m going to save the pennies for when they wise up to the potential for more expensive gifts!

There’s nothing better when you’re out shopping than a helpful assistant who makes you aware of the latest offers, sends you back to shelves to collect any freebies you’ve overlooked and answers your queries informatively and with enthusiasm.

Now, there’s a lovely lady who works on the till at my local Boots store who always has a smile, a few friendly words and plenty of chat for my young sons. Not only does she hand over the vouchers you receive for spending over a certain amount of money - she explains them in full - what you can redeem them against and when they need to be used by. I appreciate this attention as it makes me feel important, as a customer.

The question is, is there such a thing as overdoing it? Can you be too attentive and try too hard too please the customer? No, I’m not being cynical, it’s just that as I stood waiting to be served in Boots today, listening to the lady in question explain in great detail to the customer at the till how she could get a replacement Advantage Card, I was impressed by her helpfulness (going above and beyond), but also quite aware of the huge queue of Christmas shoppers forming behind me. The lovely Boots Lady seemed blissfully unaware of this, and when it was my turn, had all the time in the world to chat to me too. I wonder if she’s up for Employee of the Year. If she’s not, it’s my opinion that she should be and hey, who can have cause for complaint about queuing when they’re treated like the most important customer in the world when they finally reach the till!

How true it is, that in just a few clicks you can spend a fortune on your Christmas gifts. Maybe it’s better to go to the shops where you physically have to hand over the cash, but then you’re in danger of falling asleep in the queues!

My husband said recently “I’m going to avoid shopping at the Trafford Centre on a Saturday until February!” He seemed adamant that it would be more than his life was worth to venture anywhere near such a shopping centre in the run up to Christmas, declaring he would be sensibly shopping late in the evenings on weekdays to keep his sanity in tact.

He’s got a point. I don’t know what it’s like at your local shopping centre, but from late November even getting anywhere close to the Trafford Centre Car Parks on a Saturday, let alone finding a parking space, starts to become a bit of a nightmare. Temperas flare and it’s every man for himself as the race is on to get the last parking space and get your Christmas shopping sorted. Surely this is entirely against the spirit of Christmas? What happened to goodwill to all men? It’s almost as though in our quest to get the perfect gifts and provide the loveliest dinner and the most gorgeous decorated home to entertain in, we end up stressing not only ourselves, but each other!

So, unless you can be philosophical and calm about the whole process maybe it’s best to avoid shopping on a Saturday close to Christmas. Still, I didn’t point this out as my husband loaded our 2 year old son into the car yesterday morning and headed off to do a spot of shopping at, you guessed it - the Trafford Centre!

What are your thoughts on ‘Three for Two’ gift offers in the run up to Christmas? Boots in particular seem to like this approach to tempting Christmas shoppers to fill their baskets to the brim! I’m not sure they actually represent that good value for money. I suppose it depends on what kind of shopper you are. If you’re focussed and you know exactly what gifts you’re after, and they just happen to be part of the three for two offer then you’re quids in. If, on the other hand, you’ve got a tendency to shop like I do, then you might end u spending a whole lot more money than you intended. Basically, these kind of offers often have me standing in the shop deliberating for far too long. I’ll pick up a gift that I wanted to get for someone, then notice it’s part of the three for two offer. Sometimes I’ll notice a second gift that’s just perfect for someone else, but more often than not I can’t suit the third gift to anyone I’m shopping for. Still, it’s free and the first two are perfect, so I’m not missing out. The real problem arises when I only really need one gift from the display, but spend ages choosing two more so as not to miss out on the offer. This really is a false economy as I’ll decide who to give the second two gifts to, but because I’m not entirely happy with them, I’ll go out to buy something to go with them. Therefore, I haven’t saved money at all. And, there’s nothing worse than going back in to those shops a few days after Christmas to see all those tempting gift boxes being sold for practically nothing!