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!