Cranberry

We are entering that awkward run up period to Christmas: the final few days of preparation, when you have to start thinking in earnest about whether you have bought all the presents; or indeed any presents. And the food shopping: that's quite tricky to get right. Do you go early to avoid the queues, only to struggle for several days with your fridge completely taken over by an irate turkey? Or do you play it cool – wait till the last minute, late on Christmas Eve, when everyone else is at home breaking into the mince pies, only to find there is just a single sprout left at the supermarket?

I've been buying bits and pieces of food over the past few days. With a rough prototype draft of a shopping list in front of me, for inspiration, you might say, but not necessarily to be followed slavishly. This may be a problem when I end up on Christmas morning with a selection of fifteen different cheeses but very little else to eat. The other problem will be finding the things I have bought. The general lack of storage space in the house means that the fridge and cupboards get filled very quickly, and all the additional festive items have to be squirrelled away in whichever nook and cranny comes to hand. So on the big day I will spend hours searching for the cranberry sauce that I know I purchased weeks ago but which will do its utmost to hide itself away till I stumble upon it at the back of the bathroom cabinet some time around Easter.

A flying snowman. Actually, it's hanging on a thread.