IT'S NOT EVEN DECEMBER YET...

...and I am finished Christmas shopping!

(this is my tree from 2006, when I had my own home and loved to deck the whole place out for Christmas - I really miss that house this time of year. The kids loved coming home to it.)

It's been a long time since I have been done this early. Back before I was married, I used to pride myself on being all done and all the gifts wrapped by mid November. But in recent years that hasn't been the case. And in the past two years, I was too poor to buy much, thanks to hardly any work in my field.

But all that has changed this year and I am very grateful for it. It's wonderful to be working steady again. And though I am trying to be very careful with my money, I have to say it's been fun to be able to go shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts for those I love.

Two things got me to an early start. In September I was working on a movie called On Strike for Christmas. The house we used was decked out for Christmas as well as a mall which production filled with decorations, happy Christmas shoppers and a tree stand out in the parking lot. Three weeks of being immersed in that really got me not only in the Christmas mood, but feeling like it wasn't long until Christmas got here for real. Then, on my lunch break while shooting that movie, I went to a shop near where we were filming and happened upon the perfect gift for my married daughter. I wasn't going to buy it right then until the shop owner informed me that they only had three in stock and once they were gone, they'd never be found again as the manufacturer was no longer making them because the price point to make a profit would have to be too high. So I bought it. That got the ball rolling.

It's a good thing though because we are celebrating Christmas two weeks early this year. My daughter in Kelowna used all of her holidays this summer coming down here for her friend's wedding events and for the week before the wedding to help the bride out as much as she could. So she can't come for Christmas as that is when everyone wants time off. So she's taken a couple of personal days and will come down the weekend of the 10th. My other daughter and her hubby are leaving on the 15th for England as he is to be best man for his best man, and then they will spend Christmas with his parents. So we are getting together to have our Christmas Day on December 12th.

And me.... I am going back to Palm Springs!!!!!! I can't wait. I had such a great time there last year that just had to go back and do it again. I wrote to Eric back in October and asked him if his parents would be willing to let me stay with them again. He wrote back that the 'red room' was booked for me as long as I wanted it. I was very thankful and happy to hear it as I loved staying with them last year. So I have my flight booked, my room reserved, and a Christmas dress bought. And this time the neckline won't cause a minor scandal.