The Ghost of Christmas Past

I asked facebook today if people wanted to know why I didn't have any Christmas decorations and the answer was overwhelmingly 'Yes'. (Sorry AT and Sarah your 'art' will be up in the morning.)

So why no decorations?

Three years ago I was in my last, really significant, long(ish) term relationship and prior to Christmas we had decided to live together which was something that I hadn't done since I'd been married. Things had been going really well and I was due to move in to her house in the February of 2007. So as we headed into Christmas I started to clear my house of all the accumulated rubbish I compiled whilst living on my own. This naturally led to a clear out of the loft which on reflection was a rather cathartic thing to do. Bags of stuff got chucked and seeing as I was going to spend Christmas at hers I ditched all of my Christmas decorations. She was a bit of Christmas nut and had loads of stuff so why would I need mine for the following year?

Three or so weeks after Christmas I got dumped. Now that isn't the end of that particular story but it isn't one I'm telling here and despite my initial despair it was the right thing for her to have done.

However I completely forgot about my lack of decorations as I approached the following Xmas until I went to get my Christmas tree. (One of those not bad plastic ones that does a pretty good impression of a real tree.) It was still in the loft but that was it. One plastic tree but nothing to put on it.

Now that sounds kinda sad but anyone that knows me will know that I'm something of a procrastinator (I like to think that I reflect on decisions... for ages) and that it was probably about four days before Xmas when I realised I was bereft of baubles.

And so that pattern has continued. Each year I forget I haven't got any and then remember too late to be really bothered to do anything about it. But this year was different. I had my heart set on the John Lewis paper tree.

Pretty cool huh? But it's been ridiculously popular at £50 and we've sold out. So once again I'm debating whether it's worth getting some tinsel and baubles just for my own benefit. I probably won't. Just send me cards. I like cards. Of course you'll prob get yours around the 28th December...

This post could have been a lot more controversial but if the person that has been mentioned stumbles across it and would like it removed or amended let me know via you know who.