I’ve been hanging out with Poppy today. It’s the first full day we’ve had together for a while and we’d planned to go to an exhibition. But when we woke this morning the world outside was dark, not even a crack of light making it through the blanket of swollen clouds, and with the rain drumming down we decided to stay indoors.

This turned out to be a very satisfying decision. We watched some murder mysteries and played board games. Poppy made an amazing stew, followed by a sticky toffee pudding. It was a day of comfort food and pottering.

I managed to make a start on my Christmas shopping, online, so I didn’t need to brave the rain. I love choosing gifts for all the people who are important to me, and I start early to make sure I find things my friends and family will really love.

Starting early, though, often causes problems with my tics. The earlier I buy gifts the longer I have to keep them secret. Having Tourettes means I’m not very good at this – I often involuntarily tell people what I’ve got them, which is stressful for me and for them.

A couple of years ago I trialled a new approach – getting non-specific gifts and not deciding what to give each person until just before Christmas. Generally this seems to work well, although it did make me realise that some people are much easier to buy gifts for than others. I nearly always end up with loads of gifts I could give to Fat Sister or Laura, but nothing for my dad. This year I’m trying the same approach but hopefully I’ll balance things a bit better.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone you care about, check out the tic-inspired products in our shop. All the proceeds go to Touretteshero which helps us put on creative events for children and young people. Look out for our new Christmas card coming soon!