Christmas guilt and the twelve month rule

I am feeling pretty good this Christmas, because, so far, I have not had an attack of the Christmas guilts.

For me, Christmas guilt is not about the copious amounts of crap food consumed or alcohol drunk (although I did a lot of this). Nor is it about acting like an idiot at the Christmas party and telling the boss that he or she is a dick or feeling terrible that I have so much while others in this 'booming' city are in poverty.

No, Christmas guilt for me is the awful guilts I get for hating a crap Christmas present.

This year I did well, present wise, so I have no guilts....so far. I still have some to unwrap. But I do hate the feeling I get when I know someone has gone to the trouble and effort to choose, pay for and wrap a present for me which I think...well......sucks.

I had a terrible attack of the Christmas guilts last year when my dad gave me a very expensive looking perfume gift set. It had spray and body powder and lotion and the whole kit and kaboodle. And it was Vanderbilt. Yeah, Vanderbilt for a 29 year old.

My nanna wears Vanderbilt.

Now I am guessing my dad's wife bought the gift set. She is the type of woman who ALWAYS wears perfume. I can always smell my step-mother before I see her and I always need to wash my kids' hair after she leaves to get the smell off them.

For her, I think spraying on perfume is as much getting ready in the morning as putting on underwear and brushing her teeth.

For me, perfume is much more of a religious experience. I dont have many but those I have, I adore. I am such a stick in the mud that I have worn the same scent for years and will continue to do so probably until they go out of production. And then I will source it off eBay like I do my New West for Women. (Why Aramis, did you stop making this???)

The scent has to match my clothes and the occasion. I love, love, love Theirry Mugler's Angel but I never wear it in summer, and rarely during the day. It is a winter's night smell. It goes with cashmere and velvet. Alternatively my Georgio Ocean Dream is my summer smell. Good for heading to a cafe on a summer day. And Chanel, ah Chanel No.19. Used to be my office smell. St Georges Terrace high-rises, Nine West shoes and good stockings.

Anyway, I got a little nostalgic there, since I barely wear perfume now, as I have no housewife scent. Except perhaps B.O. and baby spew and dirty pyjamas. But under no circumstances is my smell Vanderbilt because that smell belongs to my nanna.

Which is why I felt so terribly guilty about hating that present. It probably cost dad close to $100 (it was quite fancy) and he and his wife probably felt I needed a lift because I always smelt so.....bad.

But I did hate it and I felt guilty, guilty, guilty every time I saw it in the bathroom cupboard, unopened and lonely amongst my preferred bottles and jewellery. I hate ungratefulness and here I was being very, very ungrateful.

There is good news for Christmas guilt, though, and that is the 12-month rule. My rule is that if you haven't used a present for 12 months, then you should feel no guilt about passing the gift on. Because really, you haven't used it - not your fault it just didnt work!

So this Christmas, I gave that box-set to my nanna. And boy, was I the favourite grand-child! She LOVED it! I loved that it was out of my house. Everyone kicks a goal!! 12-month rule executed perfectly.
So now I am alleviated of the guilt and I have made my nanna very happy.

Merry Christmas to all! May your Christmas guilt last no longer than New Year's Eve.