Playing the long game

Normally about this time of year - when you realise after four consecutive days of grey that the sun is now permanently gone until next April, I start to countdown to Christmas. And by Christmas I mean home.

Except this year, well, we're not going to home. A virgin London Christmas is upon us. If I think about what we'll be missing - bellinis by the pool, morning swims at Bilgola Beach, time with family - well I cry a little bit. So I'm playing the long game. And that means A List of Things I'm Excited About...

Christmas Carols at St Martin-in-the-Fields. 
I first did this 13 years ago with my dear friend Kirsten, a bittersweet end to our gap year in Brighton. This year it will be with my husband and Tor and Andy. And mulled wine.

A Christmas tree.
The smell of pine needles, twinkling lights and a present plan guaranteed to give us both lots of things to open in the morning.

New Years Eve.
My disdain for New Years Eve, otherwise known as The Most Over-Hyped Night of The Year, is well-established. So this year I'm incredibly excited to be spending it in a cottage, in Suffolk, with Lovely Boy and four of our lovely friends. A four-day post-Christmas holiday that affords an excellent excuse not to have to party hard. Red wine, cooking, pub lunches, winter walks, board games and more red wine. I can't wait.

Mexico.
Lovely Boy turns 40 in January. It's a milestone he's less than thrilled about, not least because he won't be with his family in Sydney to celebrate it but we're opting for the next best thing: margaritas in Mexico. We're off to Tulum for a week of sunshine and celebration. I'm currently scheming all sorts of things for the birthday but the trip will also mark our first wedding anniversary, so that milestone will also need a margarita while we're there.

Easter in Wales and north-west England
Some domestic travel plans to boot. I'm keen to explore Pembrokeshire, Lovely Boy is keen to drive through Derbyshire and I want to visit Chatsworth House (aka Pemberley).

The small matter of a book.
It's already on Amazon and already discounted and not yet quite finished. But it has a publication date now - 31 May 2013. No cover image. But a publication date.

A visit from the parents.
Hopefully timed to coincide with a literary party or two but otherwise a good excuse to go to France for two weeks.

A birthday holiday.
All speculation at this stage but I quite fancy visiting the Venice Biennale for my 33rd birthday before heading on to Dubrovnik for some officially mid-thirties contemplation.

That's all I've come up with so far. But I've written shabbier lists in my time.