HELP, I’ve officially lost the plot.

I’m just going to come out and say it, what has my life actually come to?

Yesterday, I was standing in the middle of the shops, staring at a gift I thought was a brilliant idea, only to get home and realise I’d already bought it weeks ago. I’m now officially competing with my own shadow. I’d hidden the first one so well in a "safe spot" that I forgot it even existed, and apparently, my brain only has one setting for "good gift idea" at the moment.

Every single year, I tell myself the same lie: "I’ll be finished by mid-December." I have this vision of myself being that organised woman who has everything wrapped and ready, sipping a cold drink while everyone else is fighting for a car park. But here I am, the week before Christmas, back at the shops, stressed that I’ve missed someone or panicking that I haven't got "enough."

The irony is, I know the presents aren't the point. As I’ve got older, it’s just about getting the family together. We’ve even cut our list right back, mostly just the kids, and our parents and in laws who honestly deserve medals for the amount of babysitting they do for us while we’re at work.

But even with a smaller list, the pressure to make it "perfect" is just exhausting. Then you factor in that we have two birthdays in the weeks leading up to Christmas and it’s just a total marathon of wrapping paper, cake, and "oh crap, I forgot batteries."

Usually, I’m okay with the creative side of things. If you want to talk about putting a nice table together or picking out decent linens and decor, I can do that without thinking twice. But the actual gift buying madness? I’ve got nothing. I am officially waving the white flag.

Plus, I’ve been missing my Prosecco nights with Shiralee lately, so I’m feeling a little bit unhinged and definitely a lot more frazzled than usual.

Look, I know this year is a total write-off. I’m already deep in the chaos. But I am begging you, give me all your tips for next year. How do you stay organised? How do you stop the "just in case" shopping? And how do you survive the birthday/Christmas pile up without ending up in a heap?

I know the kids won't care if they have five presents or six, and they definitely won't care that I bought the same thing twice. They just want the magic. But until I figure out how to switch off this "perfect Christmas" brain, I’ll probably see you at the shops for one last panic buy.

Help a woman out!