Er, did you say TEN days to go?

Somehow I've managed to avoid the fact that Christmas is just around the corner. It crept up on me in a way that is totally inconsistent with past experience.

Christmas celebrations have been getting earlier and earlier my whole life. I'm used to blocking out visions of Santa and trees and presents for a couple of months before I allow myself to think about Christmas. This year's been different though.

The shops in Poland are fairly restrained and only start spraying the fake snow around and plastering walls with stars and glitter in late November. Shops in the UK have been known to put out Christmas promotions when it's still September and a similar approach is common throughout Europe, and I'm sure North America.

I guess this explains partly why I've got to ten days before Christmas without writing a single Christmas card, without really thinking about what presents to buy people and without putting up a single Christmas decoration in the flat.

I did make Lebkuchen... German Christmas biscuits which are meant as tree decorations but they have been such a hit that there are very few left and as yet there is no tree in sight.

I have also managed to buy my Dad something I think he'll like, but only because it was over the internet, because I could have it wrapped and delivered directly to Brussels, and because I have known for a while that I'm going to buy that particular thing for him.

While I was in the UK I stocked up on mincemeat and last night I got round to making a couple of mince pies. I'm going to have to get my skates on though if I'm to use up the mincemeat before leaving for Brussels in just over a week.

Now I've realised it's really very close I'm looking forward to Christmas. On Saturday we'll get a little tree; I'll make some more lebkuchen for it and if we're lucky a couple of sparkly decorations; I'll try and finish the Christmas shopping and email a card to everyone (thank you internet) and then I think I'll sit with a glass of mulled wine and a pile of mince pies and sing jingle bells at the top of my voice.