I am feeling Chrismassy....OH YES I AM!!!

 Thank you to all my family and friends who contacted me after my last post to check if I was alright!

Why aren't you getting into the Christmas spirit?

But you'll regret it if you don't decorate your house.

Is it not very depressing to be in a non-decorated house at Christmas?

I want to reassure each and every one that I am 100% immersed in the Christmas spirit. In fact if I get any more Chrismassy, I think I'll explode in a burst of glitter and sequins!

Here is a little glimpse into my normal day.

And here are my fab-u-lous work colleagues!

Before you ask "Do they dress like that all the time?" 

The answer is....."They bloody well better...or I'll lose my job!"

The Scrooge who found salvation in a fold-up tree.

 The fallout from my bedtime visit from a mouse continues. After the little fecker scurried out from under the pillow beside me (yes, under the pillow), I set traps all over the house and even ventured into the attic. The evidence was… overwhelming. Let’s just say the droppings alone suggested they’d been hosting festivals up there.

Day one: four mice down.
Days two to seven: traps untouched. No sightings. No rustlings. Bliss.

But then reality hit:
My Christmas tree and decorations are in the attic. Absolutely no way was I reaching my hand into a box that could contain a rodent maternity ward. So I made the only logical decision: No decorations this year. It didn’t take much debating — I’m in The Helix for The Snow Queen panto for most of Christmas anyway, practically living inside a Winter Wonderland. And to be honest, I’ve never minded putting decorations up… it’s the putting them away that sucks the will to live out of me.

But after a week, I started to feel a bit… bleak. Was I really turning into a full-on Scrooge?

Then fate — or Aldi’s middle aisle — intervened.

First, a lone green Santa among dozens of red ones. He practically begged to come home with me. (As a history teacher at heart, I must note: Santa was originally green until Coca-Cola staged a colour-takeover. So really, I was taking a stand.)

Then a little reindeer with pleading eyes hopped into the trolley. My sitting room was beginning to look marginally less like a crime scene and more like Christmas… but something was still missing.

A tree.
But buying a new one? No energy. No time. No desire to start collecting baubles from scratch.

Then today, with only a morning panto show, I popped into Mullingar Pewter for lunch — and there it was:
A fold-up Christmas tree.

A magical, ridiculous, gold, sparkly wonder that looks like nothing when folded, but blossoms into bijou festive fabulousness when opened. No decorations needed.

My camera is failing to capture its golden outlines!

The cherry on top? The angel and pink elf from last year — the two items I accidentally left out of the attic mouse zone — now proudly crown my minimalist masterpiece.

Some of you will be horrified.
But me? I’m delighted.

A festive home, zero rodents, and absolutely no tinsel-induced existential crisis.

Happy Christmas to one and all — from me, Santa-in-green, and the sparkliest fold-up tree this side of the Shannon.

The Snow Queen Reigns Supreme at The Helix

 

It’s that time of year again — panto time.
Oh yes it is!

This year The Helix panto is The Snow Queen, and once again I’ve happily taken on my annual role: doing their washing and ironing… all the things I steadfastly refuse to do at home.

Watching it during tech week, I could feel it — that spark that tells you something special is brewing.
“You’re a little biased,” I hear you cry.
But opening night has come and gone, the reviews are in… and I WAS RIGHT!

“From the moment the lights went down, The Snow Queen delivered a five-star experience.” — Dublin Gazette
“This year, the team upped the ante in an all-out Frozen-themed extravaganza.” — Irish Daily Mail
“Offering the most fun panto experience in Dublin year on year.” — The Irish Times
“It was without doubt the best panto I’ve ever seen…” — Mairéad Ronan

If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will.

Do yourself a favour and go see it — pure magic, laughter, sparkle and heart.
But just remember: in order to have this, 

you have to have this!

(And trust me, behind the scenes… there’s a lot of “this.”)