Today's gift was a tiny jingle bell - hindsight being a wonderful thing, I should perhaps have bought enough to put a few in each bag, or sought out something like the decoration in the photo, as one alone is a bit feeble in terms of jingling!

Traditionally, bells ring out - often at midnight - to announce the birth of Jesus.

And of course we all like songs about jingle bells on sleighs!

Tonight at 6 p.m. (less than an hour after this is finally posted) there is the opportunity to take part on a world wide jingle... see more here