The grinch who lost Christmas

I’ve misplaced my Christmas spirit. One day it was there, the next, pouf, gone. I’d really been looking forward to the festive season. I couldn’t wait for all those carols and the goodwill to all men. But now I’m feeling flatter than a tap-poured Diet Coke at the pub. Carols in the Park was just a yakkety-yak social gathering with a tinsel-festooned choir as backing music. Fun, but not a very festive. I wanted to yodel Jingle Bells at the top of my lungs. I wanted to wave a battery-operated candle around. I could have done those things, I suppose, but no-one else was and I didn’t want to be the dog’s balls. Our visit to Santa was arduous and awkward, when it should have been spontaneous and special. I’ve been clinking lots of glasses in celebration of the season, but the words feel hollow. Are my expectations too high? Have I conjured a fantasy born of nostalgia rather than reality? Get thee to a church, I hear you say. And maybe that’s what I need to do. Raise my voice in a congregation. Be surrounded by the festive spirit. I could embrace it in other ways too, by joining those women who wear Christmas tree earrings, appliquéd T-shirts and red-and-green flashing bling. Or not. Otherwise, it’s down to the Sprogs and their excited little faces on Christmas morning to get me in the mood. Oooh, there’s a thought that makes me smile. I want to feed on their delight like a ravenous mozzie after Santa brings those chook-feather owls, totem tennis and zebra-print undies (Sprog 1 is mortified that her current knickers have My Little Pony pictures on them, SO LAME). My festive spirit might be lurking somewhere after all, buried under a pile of self-pity – too much clinking tends to have that effect.

DIET TRANSGRESSIONS: This section of the blog has been suspended until January 1. Pointless. Very nice saffron risotto with pork ragu yesterday though. The same can’t be said for the freshly grated horseradish I mistook for Parmesan and piled onto my entree. Waaaaah.

TONIGHT’S MENU: Sausage sizzle at school fundraiser.