Christmas wish list

Today Victoria asked me what I wanted for Christmas. It dawned on me in that moment that in fact I hadn’t bought a single Christmas present yet. I did a quick calculation, only 9 days to go.  Victoria’s question prompted a moment of thought.

Although it’s the not the gift but the intention behind it that counts, it’s an extra bonus if the gift is something you actually want.  Surprise gifts are also welcome especially those were some apparent thought have gone into them to match the receiver’s life and personality. In all honesty the worst ones are the ones with no rime or reason at all. I can think of a few of those over the years, like a wolly hat I once got that was an exact copy of Hamid Kazai’s. It was around the same time as the US invation of Afganistan, and Hamid Kazai had become a bit of an icon with his headgear. It did look good on him, but on me? Of course I had to try it on and I don’t believe one person in the Christmas party thought it was a match. Still everyone was giving their nods in appreciation. I continued the pretence with a smile and a thank you and swiftly moved on.

Another notorious Christmas was some years ago when we had a colleague over of my ex-partner. As the morning wore on (this was when we celebrated Christmases the British way), it became obvious that my partner’s colleague had bought the most expensive of gifts to all of us by way of perfumes and expensive razor sets etc. At a last moment I descretely made my excuses and dashed up to where I had some presents stored for a later date for friends of mine. During one of the Christmas toasts I dropped the extra gifts under the Christmas tree to save my face and honour. Guilty as charged on that one!

But back to the Christmas list.
A sure card for getting in the good books with me, is a smelly parcel. If it’s perfume, I require utter attention to detail as I am a complete snob in that department. I don’t do highstreet brands including all the popular and so called exclusive brands from D&C, Versace, Burberry and Chanel. In fact there is only one Chanel perfume that I would love to receive and that is Cuir de Russie. To this date I have still not managed to get my hands on it, so I would be incredibly impressed to see it turn up under the Christmas tree.

Other rare, but exclusively available perfumes that I wouldn’t mind receiving in my Christmas stocking are Shocking by Schiaparelli, Narcisse Noir from Caron and of course my all time favourite Fracas by Robert Piguet. If all else fails most perfumes from Serge Lutens will also work.

Bath bombs, and spa products of all sorts will also be most welcome. And scented candles from Diptyque are a sure hit.

As Victoria has illegally confiscated my Sex and the City collection, I would be tremendously grateful for a new set by the culprit herself.
Under all other circumstances, lingerie is something I love, especially from La Perla and Aubade. But as my physical attributes and assets are in constant growth mode, that is out of the question.

I would love an iPhone, but as Reinout has promised an hand-me-down one, I shall be tremendously happy with this.

Then the last but not least wish on my Christmas lists are books. Books galore! I can’t give any direction here apart from please read the reviews, and if any awards such as the Pulitzer prize was given – buy it!!