What do you love about Christmas? Choosing the perfect present? What do you hate about Christmas? The noise and bustle of the crowded shops? But how do you have one without suffering the other?

 

I have a solution to all of this and it hasn’t cost a penny, and could well be an answer to the waste at this time of year. As with so many things it started as a problem to be solved. I share the house with my mother, and we needed to clear the spare room for my son and his family who were joining us for the festivities. But no, she said. We can’t throw anything away.

 

My new grandchild was going to have to learn to clamber far earlier than she otherwise might, over the games, jigsaws, knick-knack and books left from Christmases past.

 

‘Hey, give all our old things as presents,’ my sister suggested. ‘It will be like packaging up memories.’ I convinced mother, collected up armfuls of ‘stuff’ and deposited it on the floor of the sitting room. Mother and I were soon lost in a nostalgic mist.

There was Newmarket, where you place your bets then throw the dice, which my mother said was great for children as it taught them the value of money. Mmm, not too sure about her logic.

 

There was a box of Mastermind which, I think, must be one of the originals from the 1970s, and another was Cludo, and jigsaws galore – intact, and masses of books.

 

I found a beautiful paperweight – perfect for my sister in law, and what about this wooden jewellery box for my daughter in law, maracas for a nephew, a belly dancing kit (ha ha) and even a bonsai kit with no seeds; we substituted the seeds with an unopened packet of mixed wild flowers we found on the kitchen windowsill.

 

By the end. the room was alive with precious memories. We had talked, laughed, and recaptured so much that was good about my growing up. It was a privilege to do this with my mother and for the first time I heard the memories from her point of view.

 

Next I went to the local card shop (Oops, I lied about going to the shops) and bought a mountain of wrapping paper, ribbons, gift-cards and bows. I spent the next two days in happy wrapping mode and ended up with a priceless pile of presents under the Christmas tree, each with a short explanation of the pleasure it had brought to their original owners.

I can’t tell you how invaluable these hours were, sorting and sharing. It was my gift to myself, and I think that she felt the same. It was a moment in time that will, I know, resonate down the years. How many people can say that when choosing gifts at Christmas time?