Christmas Cheer

So after the last mince pie is gone and the haggard turkey carcass is thrown in the bin your left feeling like a bloated space hopper. Food has been given to you so forcefully it may feel like you've tried to go on hunger strike in a Colombian prison. Well that's Xmas time and although your waist band isn't smaller your bank balance certainly is. Your bank balance has reduced to such a pathetic pile of shrapnel that going back to work seems like a half decent prospect. But why is it that we go through the yearly procedure of festive fake jolliness? There's no doubting the sheer happiness Xmas brings to anyone under the age of 15 but as the pressures that the Xmas break brings increase, so equally, does the joy slowly seep out. Once you become aware that your Aunt Doris wants to stab your Aunt Beryl, those extended silences over Xmas lunch begin to become quite unbearable. Obviously as a joy induced child doing the family rounds brings you gifts and leaves you feeling like Richie Rich. As an adult though the more family you see then the more money you spend. Now you might not be a tight wad but do you really need to buy Uncle Kevin another crate of Quality Streets. Lack of present buying would have you labelled as a Scrooge as Dickens led us to believe but aren't we really just fulfilling the needs of retailers all over the world and insuring Mr Asda wipes the gravy from his goatee with £50 notes. Companies have controlled how we celebrate Xmas for many a year and Santa Claus was once green until Cola-Cola decided red better fitted the cheery old fat man. This may all seem a bit dreary and sceptical and what matters most is that people get together and have fun its just important to remember you don't need the contents of Harrods to achieve this.