It's quite a bit later than last year, but Christmas is finally upon us. The shops are starting to fill up with Christmas tat and the adverts have started on TV in a big way. I wonder if the "economic downturn" (read that as "the consequences of some super greedy bankers playing silly buggers with other people's money") has caused the shops to hold off a bit. Claire and I were discussing last night how there has been a definite break between Halloween/Guy Fawkes week and the big push on Crimbo advertising this year.

Anyway, only 5 more weeks of Crimbo shopping left, and if the current talk about deflation takes hold, you may just find it considerably cheaper to leave the shopping to the last minute, but do you have the balls?

So, get you padding on (you're not going to let those bargains slip by without a fight are you?), warm up the credit cards and get shopping. And if you're not in the mood, try a bit of Dominic The Italian Christmas Donkey to get you in the mood.