Don't look now if it's too early for you

Once upon a time, talking about Christmas in October used to be far too unseasonal for me, especially thanks to weeks of pent-up frustration of seeing festive cards and giftsets appearing in shops months before the celebration itself.

But this year, I'm of the opinion that if I can't beat 'em, I'm most definitely going to join 'em and start getting ready for Christmas too. I know we haven't even enjoyed Halloween yet, but I've got certain plans that need a little more time than traipsing around the high street can offer, which is why I'm getting prepared now.

Yes, this year I've set myself a challenge of organising christmas gifts which come with that extra personal touch and apart from a couple of things the children would like, most of the presents will be made by me or by local artisans and producers.

Without giving too much away, on account that some recipients may be looking in and due to the fact that I haven't yet got a precise plan of action, I am hoping to make Christmas preparations as simple as possible.

As well as getting creative with some tree decorations and bead jewellery, here are just a few of my other ideas:

• I've been harvesting runner bean seeds from the garden which I can give to some of my more green-fingered friends.
• I'm also going to make some festive pot-pourri, made from dried citrus peel, fir cones and rose petals. I'll be on the look out for some cinammon sticks to add to the blend too. I've never done this before so watch this space to see what happens.
• My children absolutely love money, so I have been busy gathering all our loose change and filling up jam-jars. I'm planning to add chocolate coins to the collection to create mini treasure troves as stocking fillers.
• And talking of stocking fillers, would you believe that I've had a special request to make more of the little stocking fellas I created last year.
  

This year I will also be ditching traditional gift-wrap and will instead spread the joy of reusable fabric wrapping, so I have treated myself to a few metres of gorgeous fabric decorated with festive prints. Don't fall off your chairs but I'm planning on calling the sewing machine into action to make some present bags.

There are simply billions of ideas out there and I am currently enjoying two particular scrummy books, which I picked up earlier in the year. The first is called Homemade by Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson, which is stacked full of ideas that transcend the seasons. The other delightful read is The Christmas Book by Sheherazade Goldsmith, which focuses entirely on the festive season

So it looks as though this year will most definitely be a year of recycling and reusing, as well as using up stuff that we've got around the house. I'd love to know your ideas too. With little time on my hands as ever, I'm up for all ideas that come my way. If you're a blogger you may even be interested in joining in the Thrifty Christmas carnival which will be hosted by the lovely Liz over at Violet Posy. You can find more info about it here.

Given that the run-up to Christmas time has been very stressful indeed in previous years, this year, I am feeling surprisingly calm. Despite having more to do, I am optimistic that I will really enjoy it for the first time in ages. Well that's the plan.

All I now hope... is that the recipients will enjoy their gifts too.

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