What is important to you this Christmas?

My daughter was in bed having her afternoon nap, and so I thought I would take 30 minutes to myself to have a browse on the internet and see what was happening in the world. And with thanks to @olivertearle on twitter I stumbled across this article on the MailOnline: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1335550/Merry-Christmas-Along-millions-middle-class-families-I-afford-says-CHARLOTTE-METCALF.html by Charlotte Metcalfe.

For those of you who are not inclined to read the article, I shall summarise: A previously wealthy lady who was able to shop in Harrods for her Christmas gifts has hit hard times, and can no longer afford the luxury of spending "...£45 on a pot of gold-lidded lusciously scented body cream...", which has resulted in her fretting about meeting her children's expectations this Christmas.

I think it must be a tactic of the Mail, to employ writers and journalists who have the ability to infuriate members of the public, in a ploy to gain publicity. I can see no other reason why a mainstream newspaper would publish such an insensitive, ill-thought out piece so close to Christmas. Or perhaps it is hoping that the type of people it would offend simply cannot afford such luxuries as newspapers in today's current financial climate. I know I certainly think twice these days.

My frustrations about this article do not really lie with the writer: Although I question why she felt this piece appropriate. I feel the MailOnline really should have a better grip on reality than they have displayed. This is a terrible item to be published, which is confounded by the time of year they deem it appropriate to display. Thousands of families this year are struggling to make ends meet, and are having to resort to using credit cards for day to day bills: let alone having empty ones sitting around which may have to be dusted off this year (as the writer in the piece has). I feel this is a particularly insensitive comment, and really should have been removed from the piece if the editors were insistent that it be published.

Charlotte Metcalf whines that she has 2 daughters, six God-children and a dozen other children to buy for this Christmas. Lucky her I say: on two counts. The first that she has enough in her bank account to be able to even consider buying presents for that many children, and secondly; that she has that many children in her life that she is close to. As we edge ever closer to Christmas, in these times of austerity, surely we should be thankful and thoughtful of the things we do have in our lives, shouldn't we? Or am I expecting a little too much Disney style happy ever after magic?

This year we will not be having a Christmas tree. We will be having a set of lights around either the window or the mantle piece as they cost me £1 in B&Q. We will have some stockings that I will make out of clothes that were to be put in the recycling bin as they are too small. But that is it. We cannot afford to splash out (even if they are only £10 in some places) on a tree. So this year my little girl will not experience the magic of the tree in the corner, the randomness of over 100 multicoloured bulbs winking away, the fun of Santa's head singing "ho,ho,ho" as you walk past. But I am grateful. She is a happy healthy little girl, she has lots of toys (most of which donated by friends or family with older children), and has a lot of love!

Don't misunderstand me, I don't begrudge Charlotte her fortunes, and I understand when she says "When I first wrote about becoming one of the Nouveau Pauvre — the newly poor — in the summer, many readers reacted angrily, feeling that because there were times when I’d been more fortunate, to complain about losing luxuries was repugnantly selfish.

That’s as maybe — it doesn’t alter the fact that my life has changed ­radically through having far less money. And I’m certainly not the only one struggling to provide a happy Christmas for one and all".

Charlotte did well to get where she was, earning £1200 a week, and it is unfortunate that she is no longer able to earn this money. It is also unfortunate that she has a decreased income affecting her ability to provide a Christmas she wants to. What I disagree with, vehemently, is that her article is all about the material things that people seem to need to make a Christmas complete. Should she have approached her article from the angle that she may have lost her income, but do you know what, who cares, she is blessed with a family whom she loves and has friends around her that her Christmas would not be the same without, I would have a lot more respect for it. I would congratulate the MailOnline for a good, hearty Christmas story. But unfortunately it wasn't. And instead, this trite is thrust upon us.

Seems to me that for some people, the more money they have, the further removed they become from the things that really matter. Or at least, the further removed they become from being able to collate articles about the things that we really want to read about.

Little ol' me.

For the last 7 months I have done nothing but complain that I have no free time, and now, here I am, on a Bank holiday Monday, with some free time. Why was it I wanted it again? The baby is asleep, the other half is happily typing away (presumably a blog post about Liverpool FC since some chairman there has said something he shouldn't have to a journalist), and I have cleaned/washed/mopped or hoovered everything I need to. So now what?

Well, maybe as this is my first real attempt at a blog, a bit of an introduction wouldn't go amiss. I am a full time office Supervisor in North Wales, with a nine month old daughter, 34 year old grinch and an addiction to shoes (The last time I had a clear out, I threw away over 80 pairs, and was still left with over 100!). I think I am in the lucky minority who are able to say they enjoy their job (most of the time - there are, of course, the odd gripes any human has!). I enjoy making things happen, making improvements, and helping people see those improvements! Gives a good sense of satisfaction. It doesn't compare to the time I spend with my little girl though. I love coming home in the evenings and playing with her - its fantastic. Words just can't describe it, no matter if the day has been stressful, if people have been shouting at you, if your best has just not been good enough, the uplifting feeling from your child when they simply smile at you erases the sourness of a hard day in a nanosecond! She is also at an age where everything is a journey or a discovery - amazed by everything, intrigued and inquisitive (not always a good thing!), it is a delight to be around her. I can truly understand why people enter the child care profession.

Personally, business interests me and I am studying towards a degree in business and management in the evenings, and have just finished the first of two years. I am looking forward to finishing the course, and taking a year off before considering my options for the future (I spent the previous two years achieving the foundation degree). I have thoroughly enjoyed the degree, more so in the first two years, but I think that maybe because of the time constraints this year, it has been difficult finding the time to complete the work. I have not learnt this year as much as I feel I did in the first two years. Maybe, considering I had a 3 week old baby, it was slightly optimistic of me to think I could undertake a college degree, and full time employment. It is most certainly getting easier to get the work done as the baby gets older, either that or I am improving on my time management skills, and so I look forward to the final year as I did those first two years.

I also like to (try and) keep fit. This is the one area of my life that has been neglected rather badly these last 18 months. But I am now back in a place where I think it might be possible to fit it in. The babe has started to sleep through, which means I have more energy, more motivation and a far more positive outlook. The lack of sleep over the last 9 months has had a serious effect on my motivation without a doubt - I become a monster when sleep deprived, and passionately hate everything. Thankfully, I have the wisdom to realise that my "bad mood" and the "dark place" I might be at on any given sleep deprived day, is just a result of the broken, disrupted sleep from the previous night.

I should also like to briefly talk about the other half, the grinch! We have a fabulous relationship and he is supportive and kind. I won't go into too much detail here, as no one wants to listen to someone harp on about how brilliant their relationship is, but thankfully, it is! I have found the one!

So this is me, and hopefully over the next few weeks (or months) I will be posting more blogs, about more specific and interesting topics than just little ol' me! I hoe you have enjoyed finding out about me.