Fake Christmas 2012:

Fake Christmas was a success!  Here are some photos of my set up before everything got a bit drunken and messy...

The dinner table (meant for four people, set for seven) in the harsh light of day, complete with tacky Poundland plastic tablecloth and tacky (but amazing) Santa centrepiece.

And here's the table with some people around it!  See that gap with no leg room and a plate at it?  Yeah, that was my seat...

Will this microwave be all right in the Christmas tree?

As predicted, I managed to get away with doing basically no cooking or food prep whatsoever, but I did help with the food shopping (of which there was much!).

Craig's kitchen kingdom in panorama, because there was simply too much food...

(Here's how he coped.)

Before I forget, here's the nearest I got to a close up of my cheesy Christmas jumper.  It's a Weasley Christmas jumper, okay?  And if you don't get the reference, then that's your own fault.

And here's this year's Christmas card.

Are you throwing (or attending) a Fake Christmas celebration this year?  My friend Ruaridh is going to three, and that's not including real Christmas dinner!  I hope you're all enjoying the start of the festive season as much as I am!  No doubt I'll be all Christmassed out by the time it gets to the 25th.

A 'hurry up'date:

It's less than a week until Fake Christmas, and I'm getting ready to decorate the flat ridiculously early and get under Craig's feet while he does a much better job at cooking than I ever could...  (Craig's response: 'Oh, I'm cooking, am I?!')  I might not be a dab hand with a baster, but I'm hoping to provide a sensationally tacky Christmas experience for my second family.  In case anyone was worried, I now have both a cheesy Christmas jumper and a present for my lucky Secret Santa recipient in my possession.  Phew!

To get you all in a Christmassy mood (and because I know you're dying to see it) here's the long awaited official photo of my friend Margaret and me in front of the Coca-Cola Christmas truck:

Good, eh?  Subtle advertising, too.

Holidays are comin':

Apologies for the ridiculous product placement (I don't even drink Coke anymore because it's so bad for my teeth!) but the Coca Cola Christmas truck was in Edinburgh city centre today! As you all should know, the legend goes that it isn't Christmas time until they start showing the Coca Cola Christmas advert on TV, but of course they show it earlier and earlier every year...  Still, even if it is only mid-November, it was quite fun and festive to go and see the truck and have a photo taken in front of what is pretty much an iconic piece of advertising.  Official photo (taken by a Coca Cola Christmas elf!) to follow.  Phew, I should be getting paid for the number of times I wrote 'Coca Cola' there!

Real Christmas might be a while away yet, but my preparations for Fake Christmas are  getting under way, slowly but surely.  One of my stipulations in the invite was that everyone MUST come dressed in the ugliest Christmas jumper they can get their hands on.  I've been keeping my eye on some beauties on eBay, including these stunners:

It turns out that people are willing to pay a surprising amount for horrific knitwear...  In fact, when it comes to eBay the rule seems to be the uglier the sweater, the higher the price!  I might miss out on these particular gems, but hopefully I can make an even better (read: more cringeworthy) ugly jumper my own in time for Fake Christmas!

The easiest way organise a Secret Santa:

I've decided to host a Fake Christmas dinner at our flat this year, and I've invited a few friends (who we will hopefully be able to fit around our modest dining table...) round for a traditionally awkward family Christmas experience.  I have lots of ideas for the menu and for entertainment, but everyone knows the most important part of Christmas is getting presents...  No, not really.  But, also, yes really.

So rather than spending lots of money on presents for all of my eight friends who are coming, I decided to organise a silly Secret Santa with a £5 budget.  This way, everyone will get something to open, but nobody will be majorly out of pocket as a result.  Plus, my friends are funny people, so specifically telling them to buy silly presents for each other will probably generate some pretty interesting results!

I used the above Secret Santa generator to allocate a Secret Santa for everyone instead of the age old 'names in a hat' method, which makes it a lot easier when everyone lives in different places.  There are plenty of other online generators, and it's really just as simple as setting a budget, making sure you have the email address of everyone taking part and typing them in correctly.  Once you've submitted everyone's name and email address, the generator will automatically send a random name to each person involved, with a reminder of how much they're allowed to spend.  Just remember to put your own email on the list so you aren't accidentally left out!

And if you're a Secret Santa who is stumped about what to buy, there are lots of ideas here on the blogosphere, including the lovely Seonaid's Christmas gift guide series.  Here's my favourite of her gift guides so far, just to get you started!