But not for me this year. Ha.
Christmas shopping is an absolute nightmare for me as a motorist. If ever there’s a bad time to be in a car, in a city then it’s got to be the season 
of goodwill. As soon as I join the traffic flow at the end of my street I know it’s that time again. Driving over speed bumps and waiting at red lights. I want to rebel. I don’t want to be a shopping zombie but some things have just got to be done.
During the crawl into town I can already envision the misery of the multi storey car park and the desperate hunt for spaces. Sure enough, it starts at the entrance. I love staring at the ticket barrier machine waiting for the golden moment when a car drives out and there it is, the ticket I need so bad. Now to drive slowly looking for that elusive space.
You can’t do this too quickly because if you miss the space and drive past it then the guy behind you will bag it. There is no return if you overshoot it. At the same time the pressure is on from the guy behind who drives really close cos he’s dying to get to the shops. This is misery.
Yes! I’ve found a space and carefully reverse in. Owing to other people’s bad parking I have four inches of clearance at either side. If I breathe in and force myself through the crack in the door I can escape from the vehicle. Don’t forget to fold your door mirrors in before leaving. It may just be the saving of them if there is a 4×4 around.
Round the shops we go. Queues a mile long and not knowing what to buy anyway. Got to try and get away early because if you leave it until everyone goes at closing time it will be worse than getting in. Doesn’t matter if you didn’t get what you came for. It can’t be worth waiting in the multi storey waiting for the barrier to raise again.
Feeling the strain of Christmas driving.
Careful when packing those expensive gifts into the car. You will not want to smash the mugs, trinkets and ornaments you have bought that no one really needs. Careful closing the boot if you have a mountain of stuff. Put small stuff in the rear foot wells instead of on the seats then when you slam your brakes on later it won’t fly off the seat and break.
This year I have played it clever and gone into town on weekdays when I’ve had an empty afternoon. There has been on-street parking available at a fraction of the cost of multi storey parking. No single trip lasted more than an hour and the rest I did online, which is the ultimate form of shopping. All from the comfort of my settee. Nice.