A Nightingale Christmas Carol by Donna Douglas

By GRADE Elementary School Middle School High Schoolīy AGE Board Books (newborn to age 3) Early Childhood Readers (ages 4-8) Children's Picture Books (ages 3-8) Juvenile Fiction (ages 8-12) Young Adult Fiction (ages 12+).BESTSELLERS in EDUCATION Shop All Education Books.Then they just get chucked in a pan at the last minute, instead of being dressed up with chestnuts and bacon lardons, as I planned sometime in November.Ī Nightingale Christmas Carol by Donna Douglas is out now. They always get left at the back of the fridge. Only this time the self-flagellation is over the dryness of the turkey/sogginess of the roasties, rather than the size of the jumper. 'It's the wrong size/colour, isn't it?' 'I can change it if you like?' 'It's all wrong, isn't it? Oh, why don't I just walk out into the snow now and you'll never see me again?' Get a grip, you're giving someone a present, not a life-threatening virus. On Christmas morning, everyone opens a present in turn so we can ooh and ah dutifully, not to mention leaving plenty of opportunity for point 8… We're not a free-for-all, rip all the presents open at once kind of family (well, it would be a waste of all that co-ordinated wrapping, wouldn't it?). I don't even care if we end up giving most of it to the cats, I just love the smell that fills our kitchen. I've always done it, even during the years my daughter was a teenage vegetarian. I genuinely believe the festive season will be ruined and my family will die if they have to go a full 24 hours without access to Paprika flavoured Pringles. I develop a terrible siege mentality at Christmas. That's sounds so fancy and Nigella-ish, doesn't it? But everything else comes ready made from Tesco's. We all stroll down to our local butchers to pick it up on Christmas Eve. As my daughter said, 'Nothing says Christmas like a few dead squirrels hanging off the tree.' Last year's theme was 'Nature', which didn't go down too well with the family. Which is why we have enough baubles and bits and pieces in our loft to decorate our local branch of John Lewis. My husband says unwrapping a gift from me is like taking part in The Krypton Factor. I do go a bit overboard with my wrapping, with ribbons, fancy bows, sprayed pine cones and baubles incorporated into the wrapping paper. I wrap my presents while watching Holly 'n' Phil on This Morning.

A Nightingale Christmas Carol by Donna Douglas