2020 has been one hell of a plot twist. An unwelcome, unpredictable, slightly catastrophic plot twist, which somehow in a matter of minutes rattled through all the significant holidays and yearly milestones straight into Christmas. Which is how I came to find myself trudging through the Richmond Christmas Forest with my parents not one but five. whole. sleeps before we even entered December. Which, considering how traditional my parents can be, was kind of a big deal.
So today, on a quite exceptionally dreary Monday morning, I decided that Christmas 2020 starts now. Yep, right now on the 30th November. Growing up, I would habitually peak too soon when it came to Christmas, which developed over the years from a passing comment to full blown anxiety and self-doubt as November merged into party season. Would adding parties to my diary prematurely spoil the fun later on? How early is too early to irritate the post man with the addition of an unfeasibly large wreath on my door knocker? And will my Christmas-ready list on Spotify be judged by total strangers browsing online?
Not this year, though. This year, anything goes. Because quite frankly, after the shit-show of 2020, I quite strongly believe it would be entirely impossible to peak too soon.
So. Earlier than ever, here are some Christmas gift ideas to get you started…