The tree is up

The shops are busy and there's a growing sense of pressure (for me at any rate) as I trudge around the usual outlets looking for festive inspiration. We bought the tree at the weekend, a very pleasantly proportioned spruce from the Klondyke Garden Centre where the boys had a chat with Santa. They've to leave out milk, biscuits and a carrot for the reindeer. Purchasing the tree at Klnodyke and having a good look round their decorations is fast becoming a Christmas tradition in the Wallace household.

We're keen to establish some traditions of our own as the family starts to grow. The trip to buy the tree, the emergence of the boxes of Christmas decorations from the attic and the subsequent decoration of the tree and house is a cornerstone of Christmas. It's good to see Sean and Finn recognise Big Santa, the snowman doing the splits and other decorations as they are rediscovered from their 11-month hibernation. Or should that be "eternation" or some other word that is the opposite of going to sleep for the winter? Needless to say the boys are ramping up their excitement levels as the big day approaches with Sharon and I having to make sure Santa's elves are kept well informed of any misdemeanours.

Sean was at the Churchill Theatre on Friday night with the Beavers to see Ali Baba. That's him been to another place that I've not been to. It may seem odd, but it struck me the other day that the boys are growing up in the south side of Edinburgh. This is their locale, their current world, and the place they will always think back to as their roots. They know the streets, the houses, the lines on the pavements, the local shops (or supermarkets more like), the library and dentist and church halls, just as Sharon remembers Athlone and I remember Paisley.