It started with a conversation with Coleen Nolan on Loose Women about her utter disbelief at how calm I was having not done any present shopping two weeks before Christmas. I then found myself being accused by people online of not loving my kids enough because I didn’t do my present shopping weeks in advance. In between all of this was me, highly amused by the whole affair and finding the reaction hilarious.
Yes, it’s true. I don’t buy presents in the January before Christmas, or in the summer, nor in November, and you’re highly unlikely to find me searching online for presents early December either. It’s just not my vibe. I can sense the rising anxiety levels of readers who plan their Christmas way in advance, who can’t fathom how on earth I function for most of December knowing that not a single pound has been spent in the pursuit of the perfect gifts. Shockingly, I function pretty well.
My love for and connections to the people in my life are not linked to how much money I........