Well, it appears to be that time of year when, for some strange reason, we place the dying top two metres of a fir tree in one corner of the living room, string a hundred white LED lights around it and cover it in glittery tat.
It always seems to be a strange thing to do and I'm not entirely sure why it's done although there is a long winded Wikipedia article here that I can't be bothered to read fully, but it looks like there's a load of argument from various religious corners as to why a Christmas tree is wrong.
Religious people sure suck all the fun out of Christmas.
Mind you, it's not just the tree that indicates Christmas is here. The wife has stocked up a supply of seasonal booze, such as Baileys, which is acceptable to drink at Christmas in the privacy of your own home but if drunk at any other time of the year or if ordered down the pub would rightly earn you a swift but robust punch up the nostrils (by any self respecting pub landlord).
Also, daughter #2 starred in her first school nativity play today. I didn't really follow the plot - had some shepherds, wise men and a baby whose name I forget. Anyway, it sounded like a fairly charming fairy tale and she had the part of Innkeepers Wife which she seemed to enjoy. I would post a picture but the UK is now so fearful of paedophiles and lawsuits that the headmistress actually told us parents we must not distribute any pictures we take with our cameras as it would breach data protection laws!
So now apparently I can't even email a digital picture of my own daughter to her grandmother because it was taken on school property!
The world's gone mad.
Anyway, we buy our tree every year from Simmons the greengrocer in Coten End, Warwick (top of Guy Street). They're cheaper than the big DIY/garden stores and in my opinion better quality. Here's a picture of it which, hopefully, doesn't break any data protection laws and won't get any watching wierdos aroused...
... unless gaudily dressed fir trees are their thang...