Saturday, December 28, 2013

HOW DO YOU DO CHRISTMAS? [AN INSIDE LOOK AT ALL THE CALORIES WE CONSUME, AND A PERVE AT A FEW CHRISTMAS TREES]


Oh Christmas. You already feel like forever ago. But I miss you. Actually, I miss you and the food. And the vibe. The Christmas music. The madness. There's something magnetic about you, that I don't want to give up just yet.

Perhaps it's Christmas Eve dinner with just our family: pie with roast veggies (complete with crispy potatoes) and pavlova; opening up our first presents (pyjamas), and then watching Carols on TV until we can't keep our eyes open...


... Or perhaps it's brunch on Christmas Day with Grandma and Grandpa: corn mini-quiches, sausages with caramelised onion, bircher muesli, nutty granola, and home baked bread. Eaten in excitement of what comes next...


... Presents. It's true, we don't let our children open one presents until it's almost lunch time. Some would say we were just awful to make them wait, but our kids have never woken early on Christmas Day, and I'm not undoing that for anyone! Besides, we think it gives them even more time to get excited about their presents. And it's worth the wait. When Daddy Santa calls their name, they are pretty much delighted with their (whopping) pile.

And while our big girls go off to have lunch with their mum and family, the next few hours are spent at home playing with each new toy. This year, I actually enjoyed my gifts for a little while before cleaning up the gift wrapping and preparing for the next meal. Leah gave me Abba/Arrival, and I went back to my childhood - around 10 years old to be exact - and remembered songs I haven't heard since then. Oh, how wonderful it was!


After some quiet time at home, we got ourselves ready for high tea at my husband's brother's place. On Christmas Day, we usually do dinner, but to ensure that we were able to have Christmas with my nieces, we pushed things earlier. Besides, who needs to eat three huge meals on Christmas Day? We met back up with our girls and enjoyed more food, and then headed outdoors to enjoy the late afternoon sun. We were back at home by 8:30pm, and the boys were bushed. The girls unwound by reading and watching a few TV shows on rewind while I got organised for our holiday.


I'm not sure what I love the most about Christmas. Perhaps it's all of it. Cooking like a mad thing; a house full of our children; watching the faces during the present opening; or remembering the Prince of Peace who was born to save us all. All in all, each Christmas is pretty memorable. And this year, the sun was shining, on what was almost a perfect Christmas Day.

What are your Christmas traditions? How do you "do" Christmas?


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Thank you for your thoughtful and positive words and taking the time to comment. Love Kymmie. xx