Our day started with a certain little person opening our bedroom door in the dark, excitedly telling us Father Christmas had been, and was it time to get up yet. I looked over at the alarm clock. 3am.”No. You can all have your stockings, but you’re not allowed to go downstairs until we do.” We were awoken again at 4, then 5, 5:30, and finally 6am when we gave in. We have video of quite possibly the most excited children in the world showing off the contents of their Christmas stockings. No doubt it will make it’s way on to YouTube for friends and family at some point. Little Miss 5 had decided eating chocolate in bed at 3 in the morning was a great idea, and had fallen asleep for a time with chocolates in the bedclothes. This was our second year together as a family, and this time the kids knew what our version of Christmas was all about. Mayhem. Total and utter mayhem, and we’re not going to change it for the world. We couldn’t afford a lot this year, but it didn’t seem to make any difference to the children. If anything this year was better than last; they understand now what presents are, that they are theirs, that they might share them, and a hundred other values we have fought to instill. I still can’t quite understand how Little Miss 4 became quite so excited about a dog teddy, but some kind of child/teddy cupid must have been firing a gattling gun at her when she opened it.
After a breakfast of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, mid morning brought the arrival of W’s parents and brother, and the second deluge of presents. Little Miss 9 caught on to the idea of squirrelling her presents away from her sisters, and Little Miss 5 got down to some more serious chocolate eating. All rules were off for the day in terms of sweets and candyapart from an armistice in the few hours before Lunch. We normally manage the girl’s diet quite strictlythe sudden relaxation of all rules caused wide eyes, grabbing hands, and comedic stuffing of faces. Finally, the biggest secret became known to the girls; we had all clubbed together to buy them a climbing frame and slide for the back garden. My brother in law and I spent the greater part of the hour before lunch assembling it (twice) in the back garden (damn instructions!), before letting the girls loose on it in the afternoon. To say it was a success was an understatementthe younger girls disregarded the bitter cold for quite some time before eventually giving in and retuning indoors without complaint. I was surprised; while building it I had to change from wellies to walking boots because I was losing feeling in my toes. Yesit really was that cold. This evening has been filled (as it should) with rubbish television, MORE chocolate, and alcohol. The girls crashed at 7ish, and fell asleep within a couple of pages of the start of their bedtime story. No doubt they will hit the chocolate trail again tomorrow morning. It’s hard to relate how great the day has been. We worried last year that we had set the bar too high in terms of expectations of Christmas’s to come, but this year the girls have pretty much carried us along with them. It hasn’t so much been a challenge to keep up with them, as a pleasure to be with them. Merry Christmas, and good health to you and your family. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a glass of sherry waiting for me