KATY BULMER-COOKE: Christmas damage limitation

I’ve been wanting to write about it for a few weeks now but I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be a little premature. However, as I walked into The Bridges on Thursday to open the shop, I was greeted with the wonderful sight of a massive Christmas tree and several giant baubles.

I love this time of year, and I was so excited to see the decorations I stopped in my tracks and did a big, sharp intake of breath...I probably looked like I’d never seen a Christmas tree before I was that thrilled.

The decorations look brilliant and as Christmas gets closer you can really feel the Christmas shopping buzz!

I love everything about Christmas, but there is one thing that I’m not so keen on and makes me want to hit the dislike button on Facebook. It’s the endless amount of photographs on Christmas Eve, of people’s sofas covered (and I mean covered so that you can’t see an inch of the sofa) with a gazillion presents for the kids.

Now before everyone starts thinking I’m some sort of Scrooge and don’t buy presents for anyone, I can assure you that I am as generous as the next person but I think some people just go too far. It’s almost become a Facebook competition to see who can have the most over indulgent display of gifts.

Personally I don’t want my little girl growing up to think that Christmas is just about getting tons of gifts. I’m not religious but I want her to know that it’s about family, spending time together and enjoying the Christmas period, so I may have to start utilising the ‘hide’ button Facebook this year once the sofa photographs start.

While we are on the topic of the festive season, did you know that the average Brit gains 9lbs over the Christmas period? That is shocking, and the problem is that as soon as the nights get dark we stay in more and sit down watching TV, we skip the gym, we eat more comfort food and of course the times we do go out we drink more alcohol than normal and enjoy too many desserts...all of which is bad news for your waistline!

With this in mind we’ve got to make an effort to look after ourselves now...all in the name of damage limitation! So don’t quit the gym or your exercise regime yet. Keep the mulled wine in the cupboard for just a little longer and stay away from the cheese and biscuits for an extra week or two, your waistline will thank you for it and you’ll have less work to do when January comes! After all, it’s better to have two or three post-Christmas pounds to shift rather than eight or nine.