We had a lovely Christmas Day - one of the most relaxed for years. The children were up at just after 8am and by 9am all the presents had been opened! All that shopping!
While chaos reigned in the living room I tidied up the kitchen and made a cooked breakfast as we weren't going to be eating dinner until later that afternoon. By the time we'd eaten chipolatas, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast it was almost 11am and I just had time to play with the Kindle that Keith had bought for me (along with a Tassimo coffee machine) and download two books. I will still read paper books, but I have to say it's a lot easier to buy a new book via the Kindle!
At lunchtime we popped to the pub for an hour to wish Happy Christmas to Keith's mates Dave and John, and to say hello to Ian who was rushed off his feet. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, just how it should be!
The afternoon was very relaxed and we played two games of Mikey's "Cards Against Humanity" which was actually really horrible and in some cases, in very bad taste! It was hilarious though, and Sophie and I had to re-do our eye make-up as we were laughing so much! Not a game to play with friends who are very politically correct!
At 4pm we loaded the car up with Mum and Dad's presents and then drove to their house. We had planned to leave the car with them overnight and then walk back, something we needed after a heavy meal and lots of wine!
We had a fantastic evening and Mum and Dad worked really hard to make it special for all of us. They had lit a fire in the living room and we sipped Mulled wine as we opened our presents. The children were really pleased with what they received and Mum and Dad were over the moon with the hamper I'd made up for them, which was a relief! I received a lovely nightie and dressing gown set in a gorgeous silky material plus Keith and I were treated to another voucher for a night away, this time in a character hotel! Yippee!
Once the presents were opened we sat down for our starters - prawn cocktail for the adults and pate and toast for the wee ones. I'd bought Dad a bottle of Chablis which we drank with the starter and even the children had half a glass and enjoyed it! My Dad then served a mango sorbet and after letting that refresh our palates we went back to the living room while Mum and Dad beavered away putting the finishing touches to the main course.
I felt a little bit guilty, I have to say, sitting doing nothing in the living room, but all my offers of help were refused so I had no choice but to sink back down into the cushions and relax. My parents' house is very cosy indeed and with the twinkling lights and the fire it felt lovely to sit and look forward to our turkey dinner.
Mum and Dad had made a lovely meal and we had loads of vegetables, turkey, gammon and enough roast potatoes and pigs in blankets to feed an army! By the end we were all well and truly stuffed! Again, we were told to go and relax while Mum and Dad cleared away and then we watched The Pink Panther film which was silly but enjoyable!
Maureen, our cook at work, had very kindly made dessert for us - it was a bit like an ice-cream bomb with spiced fruits which dad had covered with melted chocolate. It was delicious but I still like my Christmas pudding with brandy cream!
By 9.30pm Mum and Dad were flagging and the kids wanted to go home and get back to their gadgets so we said our goodbyes and walked home. It felt very frosty underfoot but it was great to get out in the fresh air and have a little bit of exercise!
Boxing Day:
I was up early this morning and I caught up with a couple of programmes I'd recorded on Christmas Day, one of which was a ghost story called The Tractate Middoth - a bit strange but certainly not as scary as the reviews described!
Keith and I dressed and walked up to collect the car before the children woke up and the frost had given way to grey, murky fog. Not very pleasant! We had a quick cup of coffee with Mum and Dad then drove home to prepare dinner (beef casserole) before we went into work to feed the birds. I just had a couple of things I needed to do in the office and then it was home to do some household chores which I couldn't leave any longer!
Keith spent all afternoon ironing while I cleaned my filthy car inside and out, hoovered the house and changed our bed. By 4pm I was ready for a long soak in the bath and a loll about on the sofa. We had talked about going to the pub but Keith had a quick drive up to the village and said it was closed. That was all the excuse we needed to don our comfiest clothes (I'd bought Keith a very snuggly onesie!) and do very little before dinner!
No comments:
Post a Comment