A strange thing has happened as Christmas approaches this year.
Rather than the frantic panic of what to buy for the family, the internet, and Amazon in particular, has ruined Christmas for me.
Whereas once Christmas morning was all about excitement, wondering what you'd get, and who would get the most inappropriate present, now all that is gone.
In the past few days, emails have popped into my inbox from every member of my family that have completely killed the spirit of Christmas, and any sense of fun about the ritual of present opening.
The problem is the wish list. On the face of it, this is a superb service. It lets you choose exactly what you want, and relatives then simply pop online, tick the box next to what they want to buy you, and you're all done.
For added convenience we even get the presents sent back (pre-gift wrapped, of course), to my parents house in South Wales, taking away my traditional worry over exactly how I'm going to fit the family's presents on the back of a motorbike.
So does this mean an end to the Christmas morning sulks over christmas presents (in our family, usually from my mother - the year my father inexplicably decided what she really needed was a velour tracksuit is still legendary)?
Well, yes, it does. The only worry now is whether there will be items left on your wishlift - and even that can be checked with a mouse click online beforehand, meaning the only excitement left is finding out who bought what. 
And, I must confess I've fallen into the trap as well, having spent an evening compiling my own wishlist. Oddly, it's strangely practical, packed with the books I felt I'd missed this year, and even, shockingly, some kitchenware. The problem is, with time to think and choose exactly what you receive, practicality takes over.
Of course, you could venture 'off list' and simply buy a present like in the arcane old days (of ermm, last christmas) before the world cottoned onto wish lists. But as anyone who has tried to do that at a wedding knows, it doesn't generally end well.
Overall, it seems, while the internet has undoubtedly revolutionised shopping, Amazon and its competitors may have gone a step too far - and turned themselves into grinches in the process.