I say this every single Boxing Day but this year I really - really - really mean it...NO MORE BATTERY POWERED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON THE TREE AND IN THE WINDOW!!!!!

I received quite a nice pile of much appreciated and useful Christmas gifts this year including a 'universal' battery recharging station and 12 rechargeable batteries each of the two sizes I use in our Christmas lighting - BUT THIS YEAR IS THE YEAR I HIT THE BOXING DAY SALES (online, do I look mad enough to venture forth into the maelstrom of Boxing Day High Street shopping, do I?! Don't answer that)!!!

Blimey, we've gone through so many AA and AAA batteries this year I've lost count and we still have two weeks to go before it all is packed away for next year. I was so fed up from Christmas 2018 The Changing of the Batteries that this year I didn't bother putting batteries in my candle bridges or the illumination ball - I honestly could not face the effort required.

I put the Christmas tree, lights in and out, etc, up on 1 December 2019 - First Sunday of Advent. I meant to do it on Thanksgiving Night. Yes. I live in Scotland, UK. No, we don't 'do' Thanksgiving here. But we should - if we have Black Friday (and we do), we should have Thanksgiving - and the Christmas decorating should commence on that night.

But this year has been different. Well, actually 2018 was a bit different as I knew something wasn't right with 'my stoopid little heart thingie' and I was so genuinely afraid I wasn't going to live to see Christmas 2019 that I couldn't bring my self to put away the Christmas decorations until July. Oh, I took them down when I was supposed to (more or less) and the tree and garland went into the storage bags in the shed, but the baubles and lights and figurines were carefully stacked on shelves in the curio cabinet - and stayed there until late July when my husband pleaded with me to please-please-please box it all up or he would.

Any road, this year I didn't get the decorating done until First Sunday owing to the thought of doing it all - I simply lacked the real will to go all out on my usual Father Christmas Grotto look. I went very simple (for me) this year in the end - mains powered pre-lit fake pine garland across the electric fireplace mantle with a few baubles and five inch acrylic icicles, the 24 inch 'most realistic' PE Christmas tree dressed with the smallest baubles and...those battery operated Christmas light in multi-colour this year.

The Crèche took centre stage on the mantle nestled into the pine garland. Two 'most realistic' battery powered candles flanking the Creche. A few of the Father Christmas figurines on the small bookcase next to the electric fire with one of the candle bridges behind and the Father Christmas Advent 'calendar' (a long notched block with a Santa perched on a star to move down the notches - no need for a 'real' Advent Calendar with chocolates and boiled sweets when there are no children in the house).

Christmas cards stood atop the interwar tallboy chest (replaced the attractive but useless for storage postwar curio cabinet), the Advent Wreath on the dinner table...done.

Battery operated outdoor lights on the front door flanking potted boxwoods, inside the kitchen  window (the only window facing the front door - the bathroom window does not count!) a string of multi-colour lights to simulate the Aurora Borealis with a string of novelty star lights hung to look like The Plough (Big Dipper for the Americans reading here) - both strings battery operated as is the Christmas Candle I put in the window Christmas Eve night to guide the Christ Child. It also goes in the window the night of 5th January to guide The Wise Men.

And even that small bit of Christmas decorating knocked me for six. And then there was the monitoring of the lights to be sure the batteries were changed as needed to maintain the brightness.

So far this year I've had to 'refresh' the batteries on everything battery powered at least twice - and we still have two weeks to go before the end of the Festive Season.

Paul and I worked out the cost of replacing the batteries is close enough to the cost of running the lights off the mains to justify shifting the lighting scheme to mains power from now on. Even though I did get a lovely battery recharging station and a supply of batteries - we'll still use the two outdoor light sets, and the candle bridges, and the crackled illumination ball (so pretty with the ice skating pond scene!), and those take batteries.

But for the window and tree next Festive Season displays, we're going mains powered.

Online Boxing Day sales - here I come!