47 Sleeps to go...

Making a list and checking it twice…

The most important thing you can do to help yourself get organised for Christmas and the winter months is to make your lists so as to be sure you get everything done and don’t forget anything.

Christmas it’s self requires a main list but also separate lists, such as you may have on your list of must do’s to get the food shopping. But if you do not have a list for what food to buy you are most likely going to get to the big event and find you missed something really important and no shops are open to go fetch it.

On your list of must do’s you need to remember a few not too fun things like:

• Checking you roof
• Stock up on grit
• De-draft your home
• Do any little jobs around the house you have been putting off
• Check over the plumbing and radiators
• Get your boiler serviced.

The last thing you want on Christmas day or while you have visitors during the festive period is for your boiler to break down leaving you with no heating and no way of cooking food!

All a little boring but if you get those tasks done then you are free to enjoy the fun things like decorating the tree and cooking without worry.

Another important preparation we have found of the years is especially important, that’s preparing for an unforeseen emergency.

Samuel’s second Christmas he became unwell, we put him to bed thinking he would have a sleep and wake up ok and well after. We had literally just sat down to eat our Christmas dinner when we heard what sounded like choking upstairs. We ran to him and were horrified to find him rasping and changing colour. We proceeded to tap on his back which made him more distressed. After a couple of minutes it became apparent that it wasn’t anything stuck in his airways but he was experiencing a really bad asthma attack. We had no money to get a taxi to the local hospital and didn’t feel we could call an ambulance. We had to literally run him the 1 mile to the hospital, where he spent the rest of the day on a respirator. Now I am painfully aware that a few steps need to be taken to prepare for the unexpected:

• Ensure you have a full tank of fuel
• Keep some money in case there is a need for a taxi or car park fees, ensuring you have change and not just notes.
• Keep a bag with snacks and phone numbers ready in case they need picking up in a rush.
• Keep your phone charged and ensure it has credit on it!
• Make sure you plan your medication; you don’t want to run out over the festive period. Doctors are never open on the bank holidays so this must be planned for.

Not much of a fun post but an important one none the less!