Frankie Speak's Xmas List

Well that time of year has come round once again, and as childish as it may seem, I always seem to find myself swept up in the jovial ambience of the festive season. When it comes to presents, I find them a little unnecessary but a small gesture goes a long way if they have a certain sentimental quality - I always try to give personal pressies, rather than big, extravagant ones.

So here are a few things I would like santa to drop under the chrissie tree:

1. Tea - I love a nice cuppa, and i've recently been trying a few different flavours of tea. T2 is one of my favourite shops at the moment. I can just get lost in there. If I could, I would take one of each of the teas in there home with me and line my walls with different flavoured tea - awesome!

2. Used books - I don't even care which books - thats not to say I'll be happy with crappy literature, I want good books, I just don't care which ones they are. I love that used books have a history. They've been loved, and hated and cried over, they've sat on the bellies of their sleeping owners...and if you're really lucky, you'll get one with a little affectionate note scrawled across its front page - now those, they are a rare and precious find.

3. Anything hand-made. Whether it's a photograph printed off the home computer with a letter written on the back and a love heart drawn on with red texter, or an elaborate scrapbook logging your entire relationship with a loved one...receiving a gift that have been made especially for me gives me a fuzzy feeling in my belly, it always makes me feel considered and cared for.

I'm most excited about what I'll get for other people this year, I've been planning it out for a while now; thinking of what to get to show a lil love to a few of my most loved. As much as it is criticised for being a commercialized holiday which does little more than fuel capitalist rule, I can't help but get a little consumed by that cheesy xmas cheer.