What did you get for Christmas?

Money is a good gift because you don't need to worry if the receiver will like it because they will because they can buy exactly what they want with it. This is one of my biggest anxieties with Christmas, buying a pressie that the receiver will actually want, like and enjoy. I spent so much time before Christmas, shopping, browsing, trying to ensure it would be something they like. At least though I don't need to worry about this for another year again...

Everyone seemed to be happy with what they got. I hope they were.

Do you know what you'll be buying yourself with your Christmas money? 

I mainly received cash, which suits me fine. It means there are no restrictions on where, when, or how I choose to spend it.

Must all be lovely gifts  

I like the sound of your soft toy bunny. I like soft toys, I own so many of the Ty bears, the spare room in the loft is full of them. Lol.

Is your dog pleased with his blanket?

A star projector

A soft toy bunny

A coffee selection pack (every year!)

A novel to read

A box of mint cremes

The dog also received a new blanket for his bed

I find buying presents a complex thing - never sure what to buy, how much to spend, whether the receiver will like it - I most probably overthink this but it is something that adds to the stress of Christmas time for me.

Your smart watch sounds great. I have one too, I love them. It monitors my steps, my heart rate, tells the time and has a neat little alarm. I want to get a new one though, mine is pretty old now, needs to be replaced.

As with every year for me, my presents were expected since only my parents really buy me anything (and I'm not a fan I receiving gifts anyway so I wouldn't encourage anyone else to, it just makes me feel guilty I can't afford to gift back in return). My father has always been in charge of that and buys me and my brother presents directly off the Christmas lists we still make for him (and he pesters us if we don't, so, we still have to make the lists). The main present I wanted and got was a fairly cheap and simple smart watch which is going to be a godsend since I started working. First off it's a watch obviously, I've never worn a watch and use my phone to tell the time which isn't always convenient especially as it's been having battery issues so I don't trust it to stay on the full duration if I'm not in the house and near a charger. Secondly it tracks steps, which I've been very curious of because this job has a lot of walking involved. And finally thirdly it can do alarms, similarly I don't always trust my phone alarm, I haven't had a problem yet but I do get paranoid one day I'll be due to work and the alarm won't go off in the morning and I don't think I could handle a drama like that right now. I'll have to see tomorrow when my test alarm goes off to see if it will be reliable in waking me but if so that's a nice added relief. The alarm for that purpose however isn't the only thing, being able to set up alarms for my breaks at work will be very valuable as I always forget to take them unless prompted by the supervisor so this might prevent me from basically working an extra unpaid half hour each day ;). It has some nice customisation options for the faces, I haven't looked too deeply into them but one of the selections I saw in the first dozen reminds me a little for the display in a videogame I enjoyed so I've went with that one so far. I haven't managed to get the weather working on it yet but I'm not too fussed on that. Another curiosity is it says it can track sleep, separated into light and deep sleep so I'd be curious to see how my sleep is because sometimes I get disturbed sleep so I'm curious there.

Aside from that I got two videogames, one fairly old I've eyed up in sales digitally but never committed to and a second being a fairly new game in a puzzle series I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to hopefully playing both at some point which gives me a little something to look forward to.

Cool beans. I really need to invest in some autistic t shirts. I've got an autism NAS badge but that's it.

Ausomely Autistic said:

An Autistic Guide to Planning Your Career Through Intense Interests

That sounds both interesting and extremely useful. If you think of it I'd love to hear your opinion on this book. I might just get it for myself too see if it's got any tips on working as this is something I would simply love to do in the future sometime.

Lots of autistic/neurodivergent pride t-shirts and several neurodivergence themed books including:

• An Autistic Guide to Planning Your Career Through Intense Interests
• ADHD - An A-Z

Glad you enjoyed your Christmas Day too! I hope you also enjoy your Game of Thrones book, have you watched the TV series?

That all sounds nice to receive. I would like the Joy Division vinyl too. I like their music and have been a fan of theirs since I first heard my dad playing one of their records. Love Will Tear Us Apart is a frequent song in my playlist. I also liked Paul Young's cover of this song, I thought he sang it with a lot of soul and feeling.

My Tenant, at the rental in my Parish, gave me Art Supplies; I had given her an Angel Plaque, made from Horseshoes.

My Artist friend gave me three LPs; a reissue of 'Closer' by Joy Division, and two originals from his own personal collection. 'The Colour of Spring' by Talk Talk and 'MTV Unplugged in New York' by Nirvana. (I gave him an ashtray shaped like a horses leg)

Yesterday, relatives of mine gave me Dove for Men deodorant, and shower gel.