Jolly Christmas

Merry Christmas, people!

I spent Christmas eve with good friends and Christmas Day among my closest relatives. Both days involved a lot of feasting, and I ended up as stuffed up as the turkeys that fed my friends and family.

This year's stash of presents comprised many cute things. I guess friends and family have finally figured out that I am a real softie at heart. :)

See that flat pack on the far right (picture above) with a Hello Kitty face? That's a pack of facial mask, courtesy of cousin Nora, who also gave me that pink tube of sparkly hand cream. Who would have guessed that there were Hello Kitty masks? :)

The husband laughed, "Will you look like Hello Kitty after using the mask?"

Then there's also a Hello Kitty luggage tag (which I'll never bear to use) and a superbly comfortable set of PJs from Topshop, both courtesy of generous colleagues.

The Hello Kitty figurine at the back, as you already know, was a gift from the husband, who accurately and apologetically reflected that he has never given me a gift that was wrapped up. He has always presented his gifts as they were packaged. Most times, the gifts were things that I saw and fancied, and purchased right away, so there was no need for gift-wrapping.

"Never mind," I dismissed. "You are saving the earth."

My gift to myself this year is this - a Samantha Thavasa purse and a London bus charm.

I first saw Samatha Thavasa products while I was in Tokyo last year. I warned myself not to give in to its range of incredibly girlie and happy bags, purses and accessories. They are addictive. Once you start buying its products, you'd pay even more attention to its future collection. And because they were not as pricey as brands such as Gucci, one was more likely to buy - not just one item, but several at one go - without sufficient consideration.

It was a scary brand to fancy.

But I gave in this year, after seeing this at a Samantha Thavasa store in Kyoto. Why? I have no idea. There's no need for a woman to justify her shopping anyway. :)

I just have to make it a point to avoid the brand's outlet in Singapore from now on if I intend to keep my money in the bank.

Anyway, happy holidays, my friends. Enjoy the rest of the year as well as you can, before the rat race is upon us once again.