'Tree degrees.'

Christmas I've tried to avoid office parties this year. In some cases it's because there is family stuff to do. In others it's just that for me Christmas is a rest period -- it's a time to get away from all the messy stuff which flies about the rest of the year. It's about not having to worry about making appearances. It's about family -- the one time of the year when that's the important thing above everything else. I've spoken in the past about how buying presents is the thing I really love. This year it seems to have been more difficult, not because I don't know what to buy -- it's because I know what I want to buy but it's just not there. All I can find are useless generic things which frankly don't look like they require much thought and in the case of some of the department stores are insultingly uninspiring. Thank goodness for continental Christmas markets and factory outlets.