Skint and stressed? It must be Christmas

“If I hear Noddy Holder bellowing “It’s Christmaaaaaas” one more time I cannot be held responsible for where I stick the pointy end of the Christmas tree!”

Now it’s December, the real countdown to Christmas has begun.

Once again we put ourselves under ridiculous amounts of pressure to create the “perfect” Yuletide.

Far too many people will plunge themselves into debt, borrowing money they can’t afford from loan companies demanding exorbitant levels of interest, in order to buy mountains of food and drink, as well as toys and gifts their kids don’t really need.

I honestly think we need to make Christmas much simpler.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was absolutely right when he said recently that we need to stop over-stretching ourselves at Christmas and ending up with an enormous debt hangover.

He also asked people to give money to food banks and to help those most in need instead of buying expensive gifts.

It’s not being mean to put a spending limit on presents, to resist all the adverts and just have a lovely big roast dinner instead of half killing yourself making turkey with all the trimmings.

Christmas should be about spending time with family and friends you care about, not becoming stressed and out of pocket for one day of the year.

I know children can be demanding and parents want to make sure they have a wonderful time, but there is no point in spending money on the latest trainers and the most up to date gadgets or fancy phones and computer games if it means you end up owing money you can’t pay back.

My dad really did just get an orange or a tangerine in the bottom of his stocking at Christmas and a couple of cheap treats because times were tough in the Gorbals back in the 1940s and they knew not to expect anything expensive and fancy.

I’m not saying we have to go back to that level of austerity, but I do think there has to be some sort of balance and a very large dollop of common sense when it comes to celebrating Christmas.

I can’t remember what I actually received for Christmas as a kid, although I know they were really good pressies, but what I do vividly recall are the snowball fights, family parties and fun that we had.

I’m sure the Archbishop would agree that we’ve come a long way from a special day that is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus. Just try buying a card with the Nativity on the front these days.

Those sorts of cards are deemed old fashioned and have been overtaken by penguins, robins, snowmen and reindeer.

In fact lots of people are just sending texts and emails instead of Christmas cards which I think is a real shame. You can’t put an email up on your mantelpiece, and Christmas cards are a really good way to help your favourite charity.

I always buy my cards from Erskine Hospital and Help for Heroes, and lots of charities really rely on the money from cards at this time of the year.

Christmas is now just an overblown festival of excessive eating, drinking and watching far too much TV, and to prepare for it women in particular go through December with their nerves shredded, clutching lists and getting all flustered in the

overheated shops and department stores.

On the actual day itself I always recommend the hostess to delegate shamelessly. Don’t be a martyr in the kitchen and make sure everyone has a job to do, especially if you’re being invaded by hordes of relatives.

Above all, set a budget and make sure you stick to it.

If you simply can’t afford to fork out for the latest Xbox then resist the temptation to borrow money to pay for it.

I know seeing your child’s face light up when they open their present is a joy, but it isn’t worth months, or even years, with no peace of mind as you try to balance the books and pay the bills.

I don’t want to be Scrooge-like and I genuinely love Christmas but it really has become something of a bloated monster.

Decorations are put up far too early in the shops, carols blast out even before Hallowe’en and if I hear Noddy Holder bellowing “It’s Christmaaaaaas” one more time I cannot be held responsible for where I stick the pointy end of the Christmas tree!