Now, I love Christmas. It is hands down my favourite time of the year. The food, the smells, the cold weather, the present giving and all the films.
I'm sitting here while eating my cheesy crumpets and drinking my hot cup of tea thinking about how wonderful Christmas this year will be, and also reflecting over the past few years since becoming parents.
All that magic and excitement you felt as a child comes back, but this time you feel it through your children. The excitement of counting down everyday until the big fat man comes down your chimney (or through your front door, if like us, you don't have a fireplace), leaving his snacks out and a cheeky whisky, not quite sure how he manages to fly his sleigh after all the alcohol he gets left, anyway, the excitement of running upstairs and getting tucked into bed as soon as it turns dark because you are just that excited.
I always remember the broken sleep on Christmas Eve, thinking I could hear Father Christmas walking up my stairs to unload my presents into my sack. Our presents never got left under the tree, always in our "Santa Sacks". Thinking back now, Father Christmas is quite frighting when you think about it, a big old, fat man who you don't actually know coming into your home.. not quite right, but anyway - We all love Father Christmas!
I was the first awake in our house, normally about 3-4am (my poor parents, if my kids woke that early I would send them back to bed), I would run into my younger brothers room and wake him up by shouting "FATHER CHRISTMAS HAS COME! then run across the landing to wake my older brother up and shout exactly the same thing. While I was waking him up, my younger brother then used to sprint across the landing into my mum and dad's bedroom and wake them up.
Looking back now, it must have been hell.
I know what it's like and how long it takes to get everything set up and ready for Christmas morning, I don't end up going a bed til late trying to make sure everything is perfect. My mum would never let us open our presents until they had, had their morning cup of tea. Me and Dan, funnily enough, do the same, it's funny you seem to copy and pick up certain things from each others family traditions.
Our two are still a bit too young to get excited about everything to do with Christmas, but Kellan is super excited about Father Christmas bringing his "Jackson Storm Truck" that he has asked for, then Grayson copies but says he wants a "Lightning McQueen Car".
Now, I do try and make Christmas perfect and fun, but let's be honest - it doesn't really happen. I decided last year to start Elf on The Shelf.. what a bloody bad decision, I hate the creepy little twat. Plus, I forget to move him, he has been sitting in the door bow for four days because I can't be bothered to move him.
I might "accidentally" throw him away when I'm doing the Christmas de-clutter. I like to get the table and laid and set ready for the dramas of cooking in the morning.
Now, I don't like to blow my own horn, but I actually am quite good organising the dinner. I seem to be able to get it all ready at the same time. The turkey starts cooking at 5 am, I prep all the vegetables and potatoes the night before. I then sit there before going to bed getting all excited about how Kellan and Grayson are going to love their presents and play so nicely. When in fact, I know that it will start world war three because they won't want to share, and they'll want whatever present each of them has, it's just carnage.
We then go and get dressed in our best outfits to stay indoors. The kids just eat whatever they feel like, I'm normally drunk by 11 am (not even sorry), Dan is getting fed up trying to set up the toys and put them together while the kids have got bored waiting and start ripping into something else. We all fall into food comas because it is acceptable to overeat and indulge in absolutely everything on Christmas, then sit in silence binging on TV because, you know, it's Christmas.
This year we are at Dan's families, which I am looking forward to but also a bit sad because even though all the above does stress me out and you constantly push yourself to out-do last year. I like that the kids can please themselves, me and Dan can quite happily have a drink while arguing over who's right and wrong when it comes to the dinner.
So this Christmas is going to be quite lazy really, I have one job to do. Cook a duck. Why I chose a duck, I really don't know. Dan thought we should get something different. I originally thought I pre-ordered a Goose. But no, I got my email yesterday and it seems for some unknown reason I bloody ordered a Duck. I've also decided that I'm not wrapping the kids presents because Father Christmas doesn't feel like wrapping them this year, they are going straight in their sacks.
Our presents were never wrapped from Santa, so going to see how it goes this year. It will be great I'm sure, every year something goes a bit upside down, but we all still have a wonderful time.
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and I hope Father Christmas brings you everything you ever wished for. Thank you for reading my blogs (I hope you've enjoyed them).
