If the players go Christmas shopping, it's not ideal preparation. It may sound silly, but having to fight off the crowds in a busy shopping centre or having people visit can be demanding.
Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never knowing how to talk about what I do. If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my heart. Some of them. Not all.