Christmas 2017 – the year that we had to cancel Christmas lunch with our friends, we all got sick and spent a whole week at home watching movies, playing games and sniffing Olbas Oil.
It was pretty clear on Christmas Eve that we were not going to be going anywhere but the sofa for Christmas day. J still wanted to celebrate so he ran out to find a last minute turkey so that we could at least cook Christmas dinner at home. Guess what, you can’t just pick up a turkey at 4pm on Christmas Eve. So the next best thing… roast chicken for Christmas.
J and I decided to give gifts to each other on Christmas Eve so that we could open them alone, with a G&T and festive music (not wheels on the bus). I think that may have been my favourite part of Christmas this year. A couple of calm hours with the babies BOTH asleep, with my bestie, eating chocolates and exchanging gifts. Apparently that it how the Royals do their gift giving, on Christmas Eve, so if it is good enough for them…
We also had Belle and Freds open a couple of gifts from friends and family each day running up to Christmas so that it wasn’t all too much on one morning. I feel like little ones get overwhelmed by a big pile of presents and they stop appreciating each gift really quickly. Plus it was nice to Facetime in some people so that they could watch the kids opening their presents.
I ended up giving Belle a Doctor’s kit that I had got for her a couple of days early to keep her entertained whilst we were all sick. She kept taking our temperatures and ‘fixing’ us which meant that we could lay on the sofa and rest up and she thought that it was all part of a game. Perfect!
These stockings MADE my Christmas. They arrived in the post as a total surprise made by a friend of a friend’s Mum. Isn’t that incredible?! I love them and cannot wait to see them again next December.
It was so sweet watching Belle ‘help’ Freddie to unwrap his stocking. She kept asking him if she could share his toys and telling us that “Freddie said yes!”.
J cooked lunch, the kids were relatively civilised and we all left the table with that Christmas day happy full tummy feeling and… even Freddie (kind of) ate something!
He is 100% following in his sister’s footsteps and refusing to start eating any form of solid food. He is now 8 months old and he has eaten less than a teaspoon of food since we started feeding him food two months ago.
BUT he did actually pick up a green bean and put it in his mouth. Sure, he didn’t actually consume any of it but he did suck it which we consider progress around here. Good job Freds. A for effort.
Belle got the ‘blue and yellow scooter’ that she had asked us for ALL DECEMBER. This scooter has a funny little story attached which I posted here on Instagram.
She hasn’t got the hang of it just yet and now that it is -11 degrees (Celsius – I need to convert I know!) outside she will be learning to scoot in the corridors of our building for the foreseeable future. Christmas Day was one of the last mild days for a while, so even though we all felt pretty rubbish I am glad that we made it out.
Sure, Christmas Day didn’t go exactly according to plan but it didn’t turn out to be too bad in the end. Plus, a Christmas day when you get to spend most of the time in your PJs is perfectly okay if you ask me.
I hope that you all had a peaceful Christmas and that the difference between your expectations versus reality wasn’t too big!
