Woolly that sounds like an excellent package present!! Can I be your DD?? 
Pippa its hard when you have it all planned out and then hit delays - but if you are confident in the builder, it's probably worth getting a better job done later which you can love for lots more Christmases to come! Look on this as a "camping out" Christmas - go mad with kitsch, paper bunting, newspaper snowmen chains on the windows, strings of popcorn on the tree - treat it as a year of temporary madness. And next year, go for the wonderful completed look.
I went out today in sunshine, to walk to the bookshop - I was soaked getting in their door (next street parallel to my office!). But I managed to get a jigsaw for DDad - Haynes image of Apollo 11 lander module. He's really gone into jigsaws again recently - either warplanes and engineering pictures and the like, or big cathedrals and biiiig arty paintings. So I think he will enjoy this one.
I got soaked again coming back - I ended up confusing half the office when they also got back from lunch as I was in a blue dress this morning and had a red top and black trousers this afternoon (my emergency outfit in case I get called down for a meeting with bosses on a day I am less formally dressed - or I get soaked/spill my coffee/get covered in dust from archiving.....).
Did I post last week? I don't think I did. I brought my knitting to Brussels with me as I had checked my suitcase. So I restarted the cardigan for new DNiece/Nephew expected later in the year, and managed a reasonable amount over the 2 evenings - but then forgot that check-in only opens 2 hours before the flight so was at the airport 3.5 hours before it, so I got another hour to work on it before checking in the bag. I must try to get the rib of a front done before my next trip, and see would I get away with my shorter needles in the cabin, or maybe try and buy some bamboo ones in the right size (my bamboos are all larger sizes and I am concentrating on finishing this project for now).