Dear Aunt,
I hope you agree that it is never too early to talk about Christmas topics. We have a friend who is as gregarious and glamorous as you and would have made a wonderful cancan dancer, but I'm sure that's where the similarities end. At Christmas she gifts us with lots of presents, most of which are out of date. This Santa woman is not short of feelings or money, but she has lots of good (or bad) girls and boys to deliver to. The packages look fabulous until you open them and see that the “out of date” labels have been scratched off. It's the thought that counts, isn't it? Sometimes the unwary consumes an item without paying attention to the date and is terribly ill afterwards. It has become the nightmare before Christmas. How can we sort this out without destroying feelings and relationships?