All that GLITTERS

Laura was out to impress - but was she missing the point?

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Do we really need all this?’ Patrick asked, glancing at the supermarket trolly laden with Christmas goods, from special food to crackers and tableware.

‘Yes,’ his wife Laura said tightly, placing items on the conveyor belt. ‘The fairy on the tree doesn’t wave her wand, with presents magically bought, the house decorated and menus planned for visitors, you know.

‘OK, but this much? We didn’t have it as newlyweds but we still had good Christmases,’ Patrick replied, paying as Laura packed. ‘I mean, why new tinsel and baubles? When I was little, Mum and Dad threw anything on the tree - tatty crêpe paper, robins, cotton wool snowmen and loo roll angels I made at school. It was great seeing them every year. Mum treasured everything, and still does.’

‘Perhaps,’ Laura said as they headed out to the car. ‘But things are different now. We have a nice new house, and I want to celebrate with an equally sophisticated Christmas, like in my magazines. This year is going to be perfect, not all that make-do-and-mend palaver we've done before. Anyway, having fresh decorations every year is fashionable.

‘Expensive too,’ Patrick grumbled to himself.

As Christmas approached, Patrick noticed that, despite working late, Laura still found time for more shopping.

‘What on earth is this?’ he asked one evening, peering inside the large box she held.