Merry Christmas!

We have had a lovely Christmas, and wish you all a merry one as well, whether you are celebrating the birth of our Lord or abstaining from the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, I hope you've had a wonderful day.

We started our celebrations yesterday at 4:00 by attending the local Anglican church's Crib Service. The girls were entertained by a very sweet reenactment of the birth of Jesus, which they joined by barging onto the stage to sit with the angels, and Addien managed to lead several other toddlers in an impromptu performance of pushing the manger halfway across the stage. About three-quarters of the way through Cerys loudly announced that she was hungry and ready to go home, so we bundled up and made our way outside. As we strolled through the town centre, the girls oohed and aahed at the lights, and Macy slept in my arms. We arrived home to a brilliant feast of cheese, salami, peking duck spring rolls, and various other vittles laid out by Katy. After a quick bath, we came down to open our Christmas Eve pajamas, and tried to settle in to A Muppet's Christmas Carol, but quickly realised that that's a few years on for the girls and so settled for a game of Simon Says. After settling the girls down for the night, we enjoyed Raider's of the Lost Ark and decided we were too tired to make it to the midnight carol service and headed for bed. (Well, I did--Katy and Tim stayed up until the wee hours of morn watching Bleak House and searching the internet for cheap housing options.)

This morning we slept until 8, opened some small gifts, and feasted on pancakes and sausage while discussing the finer points of Jesus' birth (Jesus was born in a barn, not a field, in Bethlehem, not Bedford). The morning was spent napping, bathing, and gorging our eyes on Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang and countless episodes of Charlie and Lola, both gifts for the girls. After an Indian takeaway at 1:30, we all headed for the park to burn off a few calories and tire out the girls so the grown-ups can enjoy an early night. The early evening saw puzzles, more naps, and mugs of hot vanilla. Somewhere in there Katy cleaned the kitchen and got in a load of muddy laundry. And now we are catching the last few minutes of The Polar Express while Macy practices her army crawl.

A very merry Christmas, indeed.