Some things will never change ...

... leaving my Christmas cards ( those that I still send - dwindling in number ) until the last possible posting date

.... never buying enough wrapping paper but not discovering this until Christmas Eve

... and being wooed  by the ridiculous array of silly 'party food' from the supermarkets such as mini hot dogs ... what's the matter with a proper hot dog for goodness sake ?

There's something about the allure of the ad campaign that I fall victim to in a moment of weakness,  the media hype about having the 'perfect Christmas and the seige mentality that must come from some neanderthal past gene of thinking that the shops will never be open again and what if we all starve ?

Sadly, there's something else that will never change and that is the tragic loss of life that arises from a senseless act of terrorism in the days leading up to Christmas that rocks us to our core and leaves us speechless with horror and disgust that any human could inflict such violence on another.

To see those children, who survived, pack their schoolbags on the following day, as an act of defiance against the evil perpetrators, is nothing short of heroic.

It puts the choosing of chipolatas into stark perspective and makes me feel idiotically stupid to even consider that Christmas is a chore when mothers across the other side of the world are burying their children.

So, this Christmas, I will be praying for an end to terrorism and counting my blessings that I have my children safe in my arms. That is really all that matters.