A new pleasure this year. My little great-niece Matilda - known to one and all as Tilly (though personally I prefer Matilda, but it's not my name at stake here) - has lately turned four, and so this year she is old enough to be given Christmas presents suitable for a young lady of style and distinction. Well, a very young lady, to be sure; but nevertheless it's time she had some real-life girly accessories, and not just miscellaneous things to play with. Mind you, she can play to her heart's content with all that I've sent her, if that's her true inclination.
The cat's face above is one of those presents. Actually it's the design on a zip-up fabric bag with an orange shoulder strap. So when out and about she can carry a few essential items. Such as? Well, a zip-up purse with a cat on it - another present. Purses are boring unless they contain coins, and to create an intriguing rattle I've popped a £2 coin inside, which of course she can actually spend on a jet-set lifestyle, or whatever else takes her fancy. And to help pass the time while she considers all the trendy things that £2 might buy, I've included two small globes - the sort that 'snow' inside if you shake them - each containing a silver reindeer. There's yet another little surprise in the cat bag, one which she may not discover straight away: a little white mouse. Here's the entire collection, before I wrapped it all up in merry Christmas paper, and then in plain brown paper for posting.
And here's the stiff paper bag the presents went into, before I got to the brown-paper stage.
Hitherto, I've simply sent her parents - my nephew and his wife - a cheque to spend on Matilda as they see fit. I've still given them a smaller amount of cash, to put towards her shoes or general welfare, but from this year onward she will be getting presents directly from me, and I will have all the fun of choosing them. And thus it will be, year by year, until she wants only cash.
And she won't be alone. My niece has just had her first baby, a little girl called Ruth. So in four years' time, I will be choosing Christmas presents for two young ladies of sensibility and perception.
I don't think this post is likely to be a spoiler for Matilda. I'm sure she is quite unaware that her great-aunt has a blog!
