What do I want for Christmas ...?

Its 15 days 'till Christmas Day and my other half and I were talking about what we wanted for Christmas.

I'm a very lucky lady because my OH has very similar thinking to me.  Neither of us are materialistic and 'stuff' just doesn't matter too much.

We have a 15 month old who would love playing with boxes and wrapping paper more than anything, and we're not yet receiving lists as long as your arm, nor are we getting 'Want that' with every toy TV Advert.  However it won't be long.

However while I'm on that subject it appears the majority of TV Adverts show us that if we *love* our partners/spouses/kids/family.  At Christmas we need to spend lots of money showing them we do.  Sitting on the new sofa to watch the new TV together, the new dining room table for the family meal, the new coordinating winter wardrobes, buying excessive food and that's even before the presents are bought.  I suppose if you're lucky and able to afford all this - great.  But I, like many Mums can not.  It does not mean I don't love those nearest to me, it means I refuse to get into debt for just 1 day in the year.

So ........ while I won't confess where my purchases were made or how much they cost, it wouldn't be fair to the recipients.  What I will say is that I stuck to a budget.  I also hope, that although the gifts are not expensive, the recipients know are from the heart.

My boyfriend asked me what I wanted for Christmas (which I think he then regretted after I launched into Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas') I said what I'd really like are some nutty soft biscuits that I loved from a previous holiday in Germany - Nuss Eke.  He found a recipe online and made a pre-Christmas batch to see if it was the same kind.  They were better - simply delicious!  Clever man.  This to me, means more than any other gift - its from the heart.