‘Tis the season to be jolly! But it is quite hard when Christmas is less than a week away and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping!
Am I alone in finding it extremely difficult to come up with the perfect present these days? If anyone wants something they seem to purchase it immediately, even paying for it on tick if they can’t quite afford it! This year my LA family and I have set ourselves the challenge of buying presents for $30 or less. Its actually quite fun once you get going and no one ends up broke in the New Year or with a pile of unwanted stuff!
I was looking back on some of my favorite gifts I’ve received over the years searching for inspiration. I realized the majority of them have stuck with me not because of how expensive they were, but because of the time and thought that went in to them. My family didn’t have an awful lot of money growing up but that didn’t mean we always went without. I received fabulous presents as a child. Two that spring immediately to mind would hopefully be just as well received by the kids of today. When I was around seven years old my mum spent weeks making me an amazing collection of elaborate outfits for my dolls. Admittedly she is a very creative woman so this is obviously not an option for everyone, but if you are at all handy with a needle and thread or can knit a bit why not give it a go? A friend of mine (and not a craft expert by any means) knitted teddy bears for her two children one Christmas, and even though they had a playroom full of expensive toys, these homemade cuddlers were the first choice to go in their backpacks whenever they spent a night away.
Another favorite gift of mine (I was probably about 11) was from one of my older sisters, Jayne. She was on a tight budget but gifted me the ultimate treasure trove! She got a cardboard box and filled it with penny sweets, small toys and magic tricks and fun tricks (who doesn’t love a whoopee cushion or a catapult…?), which kept me going all year and the fond memories of it have lasted a lifetime!
Craig, (who runs Brits in LA with me), organized a surprise flashmob for my birthday a few years ago. He got a huge group of my friends together (some even flying in from England!) and they serenaded me with ‘Come On Eileen’. I still get a bit teary over the amount of effort everyone put in to make it such a memorable occasion and am still amazed that not one person accidentally spilled the beans.
So if any of you out there are starting to stress out with the expense and worry of the material side of the holiday season, stop right now! If you think people are only going to like you if you take out a second mortgage to impress them, then maybe its time to get new friends (or family!). If you must go on a little shopping trip, I highly recommend Kitson who have a range of unique gifts for Him, Her, Kids, babies and even pets too! Their prices have been slashed in half due to the stores all closing down, making it bit of a bargain for once! If any of you have tips to share, send them to us at britsinla@gmail.com.
If you are looking for places to dine on Christmas Day you can rest assured that lots of places will be open – we will post a list of a few we like on our Facebook page which can be found via www.britsin.la
We will be ringing in the British New Year from 2pm at The Pikey – so feel free to join. They will have a live stream from London so you will even be able to hear Big Ben chime as it goes into 2016!
We had such a great time hosting Pub Quiz at The Pikey last Tuesday, so thank you to everyone who battled the winds to get there! Congratulations to newbies, team ‘USUK’ for coming top of the class and commiserations to topically named team #YouAin’tNoMuesliBruv for being last – but at least they got a lucky dip in Craig’s prize box and the multi-talented Ron Jeremy performed Jingle Bells to them with his mouth organ!
If you want to try your luck, come and join us on December 22nd with quizmaster Sandro Monetti. You don’t need a team or have to be British or even be particularly clever. Just be prepared to have fun and you will have great night! I will be there, so make sure to come and say hello. If you have any questions or comments you can drop me a line at britsinla@gmail.com
See you all in 2016!
Happy New Year!
Eileen
