Christmas preparations...

Michael Bubbles Christmas CD on; Daughter making mince pies, ginger bread biscuits and Finnish christmas star pastries; a full glass of some rather excellent M&S mulled wine on table in front of me...Christmas must be getting close.

Micheal Buble - isn't he just lovely?

As always, at this stage, Third Advent, I'm not at all ready - I have several presents to get, and the tree isn't purchased yet, in spite of a rather wrought attempt by daughter and me earlier today. (Long story, but basically we had a publicly conducted dispute about whether the chosen spruce would fit a base which I just know we have in storage somewhere - and whether we in fact should buy a new one for the stately sum of £20. We ended walking away from the quite openly bemused Christmas tree seller...we'll be going up to the larger store in Highgate again then this year, getting a pick of the leftover trees days before the big day. Oh well..)

But I'm beginning to feel Christmassy; the Finnish carol concert at Southwark Cathedral yesterday ensured that. Traditional as well a new Christmas songs were performed by Vuokko Hovatta, Zarkus Poussa, Jarmo Julkunen, Jani Pesola, David Gordon and the excellent Merenkurkut choir from Finnish Church in London. I was glad that we at Finn-Guild could support the church with sponsoring the concert via our travel bureau, Guild Travel. The Cathedral was full to bursting and many an Ex-pat eye teared up with the beautiful singing. (We Finns like to have good cry at Christmas....But any Finn will tell you this is 'good crying' - just another little thing you guys from different nations around the world find difficult to understand).

The Merenkurkut choir singing Finnish carols

But as I sit here, writing this blog, listening to Daughter singing along to Mr Bubbles, I feel incredibly thankful that, as well as being able to fit the Finnish traditions into our Christmas again this year, Daughter is going to do most of the cooking. She spent last Christmas being quite ill with a nasty bug, and couldn't really eat any of the many Finnish dishes she prepared for the first time then. Now she looks like a seasoned pro, adapting recipes, juggling several dishes...soon I won't be needed at all for the Finnish food preparations.

Perhaps this time next year I'll be a little more ready for Christmas? Fat chance...

Are you ready for Christmas?