Hello, everyone.
As of today (Friday 1st November), there are approximately 8 weeks remaining until Christmas. The thought of doing Christmas shopping so close to Christmas itself can intimidate me, and my mum as well. Crowded high streets, busy stores, delays to public transport, roadworks... that's just in the Suffolk town of Ipswich alone.
In my childhood days, I would write my Christmas wish list, and my parents would tell me that I should hope that Father Christmas finds exactly what I'm looking for. I believe in Father Christmas myself, even as an autistic person, but my dad allegedly has an occasional habit of bluffing me into thinking it's cancelled, when it isn't. It would be so unfair on anyone, especially an autistic person, if their parent or carer cancelled their Christmas in any way whatsoever, for any reason.
I remember getting a BMX bike for Christmas many years ago, but as I am in my early 30s age-wise (as of 2013), entitled to benefits and in paid employment, it gets so much harder to think of anything to have for Christmas. Even some of the more desirable, expensive gift ideas are within my financial reach. Last year (i.e. 2012), I got myself a Tassimo coffee machine, some Tassimo discs and a couple of coffee cups. I would insert a disc into the machine, put one of the cups in the right position, and I would end up with a replicated version of what I would order at a local coffee shop. It was a great present, but machines, computers etc cannot completely replace humans, and it's not the same as going to my local coffee shop and ordering the real thing for myself.
When it comes to Christmas shopping, or Christmas itself, how do you feel about it? Did you receive any good presents in recent years? And what presents are you hoping to receive this year?
