Well, the title says it all. Christmas is coming.

As I write this, there's 19 days (December 3, 2002) until the big day is here. 19! The next thing I know, we'll be counting down the last 19 hours before we're celebrating!

So what have I done in the run up to this joyous occassion?

I started early. Well I got my Christmas cards early. I decided that I could only be bothered to send them back to my grandparents. Why send them to people who aren't going to bother sending them back to me?

Thank goodness for Electronic Christmas Greetings. I don't mind if I send one to every single person in my address book (48) and only receive back five. Its the thought that counts, isn't it? Its going to cost me a lot less time (and money) to write "Dear (Insert Particular Name), Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Love Rachel", rather than sending them all seperate greeting cards.

Anyway, its too late. The last date to ensure Christmas Cards will get overseas has come and gone. So, it may get there in time, but I can't guarantee it. There's a couple of people that I haven't heard of in ages, so I don't even know if the address I have for them is the right one! I'll stick with this solution.

Surely if these people were planning to send me a real card, they would have got in contact with me and asked me for my address? Well they haven't. I can't be bothered to spend money buying cards and spending postage costs on them if they aren't going to bother to do the same for me. Sorry folks, but that's the way it is.

I still haven't been to a website to choose any greeting to send to these people yet. I figure that if I was to send them today (December 6) that they'd think I was crazy trying to get into the Christmas spirit so early. I'm thinking maybe I'll do it after next weekend, after all then it'll nearly be the middle of the month and pretty much everyone will be in the mood by then. Although I guess I should do it sooner rather than later as last year I spent a long time trying to find a website that was free as opposed to "pay and have a membership to send cards to whoever whenever".

I'm one of these people who don't get into the mood of festivities early. Not sure why. I keep telling myself tonight - as in every night lately - I'm going to listen to a compliation of my favourite Christmas songs (Slade's "Merry Xmas Everyone", Roy Wood's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", Wham's "Last Christmas" and the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping") to get myself into the mood. And I haven't.

I should though! If I don't, then I won't be able to listen to them. This will be my third Christmas that isn't being spent in England. Canada doesn't seem to have inherited some of the classic Christmas Songs that I have. I say inherited because Roy Wood, Slade and the Waitresses' released their songs Years before I graced the earth with my presence. I was barely six months old when George Michael was singing about how he was still heartbroken about the love of his life spending Boxing Day with someone else.

I had to laugh this morning. A local radio station was playing "The Alternative Twelve Days of Christmas". Now this isn't the first time that I have heard this parody, but its something that I hadn't heard of before moving to a country that has a White Christmas (more on that later) 99% of the time. As I was saying, I had to laugh. I can't remember all the verse (perhaps next time I should record it so I can play it back), but I do remember the one all important line: "And a beer in a tree".

Okay, so I haven't done my Christmas E-greetings yet, but I've done nearly all my shopping. This must be the first time EVER that I've got most of my presents before the first week of December is finished. I don't have a clue as to what to get my Dad. So I still have 19 days, but I'm one of these people who appear to leave everything until the last minute. It could be 11.50pm on Christmas Eve, and I may not have my Dad's present! If anyone has any ideas on what I can get him, I'd be eternally grateful.

Right then, I've ranted about Christmas Cards and E-greetings, Songs and Presents. Next up: The Weather.

I was born in a country that is now recognised for its lack of bright sunny days, and its majority of grey cloudy, windy and rainy days. England. A country whose Weather Met. Office can guarantee 99.9% of the time that the population will not be celebrating a White Christmas.

Then I move to Canada. A country that can guarantee largely that there'll defintely be a White Christmas. This will be the third White Christmas. I was posting a message on a message board I regularly use the other week to say that I could be certain that I was going to be experiencing another one and that I'd much prefer to be back home where there isn't any snow. It gets boring after a while, looking at all the snow outside. It all white, doesn't change colour and there's no green or red to make it look whatsoever Christmassy at this time of year. And to make matters worse, its so cold! At least back home even if it does rain, at least there'll be a hint of some kind of colouring.

Which brings me to memories. I have fond memories of 16 Christmasses that I spent in England surrounded by some of my favourite family members. I guess from about the age of about 12 until I was 15 the two Fridays before Christmas, my mum, gran, brother, aunt, two cousins and myself would visit two of the local towns to buy Christmas Presents. It was good fun. As we got older, we were allowed to spend less time with the adults and work our own ways around town to get what we needed. Oh those were the days

Christmas for us used to start on Christmas Eve. I remember that Mum used to spend the days before hand making rice salads for the very day, and then Christmas Eve we'd be all excited about going over to Gran & Grampy's house for the evening. It would be the whole family - 16 of us in total. Everyone would arrive after 4pm, and once everyone had arrived, we'd start on tea. Tea would be a mixture of things - the women would have all prepared something, so everyone could have something to their liking. The men would eat in the kitchen; the women and children in the front room. After everything had been tidied away, we were allowed to open presents from Gran & Grampy, and everyone else would exchange presents to ensure they went home with their own. Oh those were the days.

This will be the third Christmas Eve that is a break away from tradition. If I remember rightly, the last two years they've gone out for a meal on Christmas Eve. And where am I? I'm 3,000 miles away from the people who make my Christmas. Christmas hasn't started until I've spent time with them. I'm sorry, but even though the whole family phones to speak to us on Christmas Day itself, I can't get away from the memories of those 10/11 years we spent together.

Christmas Day. Since I can remember, I've woken up early. Switched the radio on to listen to the foreamentioned words. Mum & Dad have left most of my presents outside my bedroom, so I bring them in and open them. Try to promise to myself that I'll have presents left opened when everyone else is awake. Doesn't usually work like that! By dawn break, all those presents are opened.

Christmas Day was always spent with my other grandparents - either at their house, or ours. Either way, the visitors would arrive approximately fourty five minutes before lunch. We'd open more presents and cards, then eat lunch. If we were at home, I'd be begging Dad to tape the Christmas edition of Top Of The Pops because it was always on when we were eating! After lunch, we'd spend most of the afternoon watching movies and specials on Television.

So a normal Christmas really. Nothing's changed much really. Except that I usually start celebrating Christmas Day at 6pm on Christmas Eve (because its midnight back home). We get a mountain of phone calls from family; last year was great because we managed to speak to basically all 12 members of the family which makes up for missing Christmas Eve. Thank goodness that its not our phonebill for all these calls- everyone called us last year!

Well, a reflection on Christmas Past and Christmas Present from little old me. Thank you all for reading this, and may I wish you a Merry Christmas. Please think of me as you listen to the foreamentioned songs; and I will do the same for you. Oh, and if anyone's willing to swap rain and England (specifically Cornwall), please e-mail me using the link on the left!