First I would like to update you on the final result of the tree
More to my liking.
Christmas was spent at the parental units house.
On Christmas Day both my brothers and sister, and their partners and children congregated for a long lunch at the above home. In all it was a tiny 19 people. We only had one extra this year. Some years it might be an extra family. Mum doesn’t like people having Christmas alone, so she will often invite friends. Normally it’s over twenty. This is why I say small.
Any way, before the everyone congregates around the table, we have the presents. This year was just for the kids. There was paper everywhere. The time it took to take one nephews John Deer truck out of the packaging, was ridiculous. I assisted my brother. We got there in the end, but it required a knife and maybe a screwdriver. John Deer, made to last. Especially the packaging. All those weeks or months of thinking about what to get all the kids, nine including my own, unwrapped looked at and moved onto the next one within minutes. You hope they get some enjoyment from it at a later date.
We move on to lunch. Two hours or so later, the kids are having a water fight out the back and the adults are either watching the fun or sinking into a food coma. Maybe two hours later, once everyone has awakened, and they are back for seconds. Even with the second round, left overs still remain.
What was a brand new, metal slinky turned into this by the time we returned to Sydney one and a half weeks later
I guess my theory of a metal one lasting longer was a bit off.
They don’t last like they used to (old stereotyped woman’s voice, holding a whacking walking stick)
Why I Don't Ask Why 