Got a complaint? Send it to Grumpy Gwen and if she thinks your whinge is justified, she might just send you some cash – it’s that easy!

LATE AGAIN!

I start planning for Christmas in October, but everyone else rushes about like a whirling dervish.

Pauline Taylor, St Ives, NSW

It’s because we’re time poor. This is why many of us end up with gift certificates. Unfortunately, there’s nothing like a voucher to say, ‘This is the most I’m willing to spend on you.’

But people need to stop going overboard. I advised my spendthrift friend Gloria to set a limit on how much she and Fred can spend on each other for Christmas, so she has. It’s $10 on him and $500 on her.

BE GRATEFUL

My birthday is two days after Christmas. Why does everyone believe one present is enough to cover both occasions? Everyone else receives a separate gift!

Present-Deprived, Melbourne, Vic

This comes into the ‘Life Isn’t Fair’ basket, or LIF. Other examples of LIF are natural blondes, those with perfect eyesight and people who win the lottery twice. Also in this category are people living in poverty, those with terminal illnesses and families in war-torn nations. It’s who’s around your tree that counts, not what’s under it.

CHOOK CHAIRS

I value my friendly supermarket check-out chicks, though some are more mother-hen age with dodgy knees. Why can’t they be given a seat in the busy pre-Christmas rush?

Nina Ambrose, Lockridge, WA

I’ve raised this very issue with my local supermarket manager. Standing all day is torture! My ‘check-out chick’ at the ‘10 items or less’ queue is always cheerful, though a little strict. If you have 11 items she forces you to the back of the queue and, if you have 12, a hatch opens in the floor and you plummet to the car park.