It's gift dilemma time again

What do you buy family members for Christmas when you only see them once a year?

- SONJA BROWN

my neighbour asked.I have an idea that many people sit with this dilemma each year. In some form or another.

We all agree that Christmas is supposed to be magical. After all, it is that time of year when you want to wind down and relax.

It is also the time when you suddenly realise you have to buy presents for relatives you last saw when petrol was cheaper and life made sense, because everyone gets together on the 24th.

You love them, of course. You just don’t know what they're like these days. That’s the start of the awkward memory game. You stand in a shop whispering to yourself.