Christmas Day 2012 (by )

Christmas Morning the Fire Place

Christmas Morning and the stockings were bulging at the seams, two dresses lay draped across the fire guard. Jean was almost bursting with excitement and Mary had picked up on this - they had woken us up at like 4:30 am - we sent them back to bed and then I couldn't sleep for excitement and so went and woke them up at first light!

Jean emptying her stocking Mary trying to put stuff back in her stocking Daddy helping Mary with her stocking

Jean was ecstatic to find the things she had asked for in the stocking and Mary got a little confused and kept trying to put her things back into the stocking! Jean then entertained us with jokes from her Angry Bird book.

Jean and her angry bird joke book

Whilst Mary played plinky music on her little plinky guitar 🙂

Mary and the plinky toy guitar

I was impressed that Santa realised I needed a pencil sharpener and rubbers and pencils and a calligraphy set!

Mummy's stocking innards

Mary finally got the idea with the stockings... just in time to help Daddy.

Mary helping Daddy with his stocking

The girls were sleepy but perked up once breakfast and more present opening was mentioned!

Daddy and the sleepy children

Jean sniffing the presents to see if she can guess what is in them! Jean and Daddy festive hug Jean master of the presents Mary opening a present that is nearly the same size as her!

There was a lot of presents!

Tree, presents, kids not yet dawn

Most of them were from our friends and we could not believe their generocity, there were lots and lots of lovely things for the girls but also things for me and Al. My presents ranged from a lovely pocket dragon broach which I wore at dinner, to butterfly necklaces - one of which Jean had chosen specially for me. Then there was a Clangers craft book and so many other things - all I could say was 'Oh wow!' and then it came time to open the package that had turned up on the door step Christmas Eve.

The tag read 'The Snell-Pym Family From Santa' it was a complete mystery and it contained an X-Box Connect! Jean did little happy jumps and Daddy stood there frozen and then started trying to work out if he had a cable to connect it to one of the monitors we have kicking about the place etc... and I cried. I'd tried to make a video Christmas Eve to thank everybody for being so lovely but I had gotten too choked up. Father Christmas had delivered what was wanted but not what had actually been asked for as Jean was worried it was too big a present and I had said on Facebook that such a present would have to be a whole family present.

Stickle Bricks! Jean and Mary with the presents from South Africa Jean and her mirrored pen Mary coming to help Daddy open presents Snuggly Bear and Cloths! Mary in her new outfit

Jean loves Angry Birds and so the umbrella had to instantly be tried out!

tsk tsk it looks like rain Mary and Jean exploring the outdoors on Christmas Morning with new Angry Birds umbrella

As did the Ju Jistu mitts that she had asked Santa about specially.

Ju jistu Jean and her mitts from Santa

Butterflies! I received lots of butterflies as necklaces and wall hangings - Alaric says he is neither for nor against butterflies in the house but that they make me so happy that he wants to just cover the house in them now 🙂

Two butterfly necklaces Beautiful Butterflies

Jean was over the moon at the stack of books she received and we knew that there was just as many to come on Boxing Day too!

Jean's tower of books

She chose a Worst Witch book to start with and was just finishing chapter two when it came to bed time 🙂

Jean loves books

Science It's a Kid Thing

So does Mary 🙂

Mary the baby Book Worm

Mary also loved her little Hedgehog that Jeany had gotten her.

Oooo Daddy is that a little hedgehog? Yep I have a hedgehog I love my hedghog

The girls both wanted to put on their new cloths - Jean chose the blue dress which had been mine at the same age - though it had been made longer for me when I was about 10 so is long enough for Jean!

Jean Style Christmas Day

The hat is one of Nanny's which she then put on Mary, a process I don't think Mary appreciated!

Jean putting a too large hat on Mary

But then Mary was really happy with the hat and wondered around with it on for ages!

Mary Loving the Too Large Hat

Mary loves the little Minni Mouse outfit so much that there was a cross tantrum when it had to be removed due to a nappy breach - but this was solved by the fact she saw her new pj's (sent by the same person! Helen her god mother!).

We left the kids watching their new film whilst we went to cook the dinner. Well when I say 'we' I mean Al the elf!

Legolas preparing Christmas dinner a.k.a. Alaric in elf hat

I was busy decorating the Christmas cake 🙂

Sarah decorating the cake

The Snowflake Cake! It didn't quiet come out the way I invisioned - the two techniques didn't work well together - most of the slump in the wonky cake stand rather than the cake itself though!

Christmas Cake 2012

I was very happy with how the glittery snowflakes came out though! More on this will appear on our cooking bog at some point!

Icing Glittery Snowflake

It was then Dinner time and Jean rushed to the table - anyone would think she was hungry!

Jean wondering where dinner is

We went with a standard fruity starter 🙂 Melon and strawberries 🙂

Fruit starter

then onto the leopard pie which I had made little vent tubes for, these represent polyp tubes in colonial organisms 🙂

Leopard pie

It worked really well this year and I really enjoyed dinner 🙂

Alaric cutting the leopard pie Food glorious food

Jean of course was very hungry and couldn't even wait for the crackers to be pulled - she got shouted at! (ok so this is a posed shot taken after the event!).

JEAN!

Yummy yummy for my tummy!

Veggi Christmas Dinner

I then made pud as Alaric was exhausted!

Binary pud

See very tired - one Alaric!

A very tired chief

Mary never quiet got the hang of the crackers!

Waiter! Mary with a cracker So you pull these things and a toy comes out?

We then all went off to read our books whilst Mary napped - apparently I was snoring away on the sofa! :/

Then me and Jean played an epic game of Scrabble where I found the new challenge was to to try and make the board as open as possible and to only use words I could explain the meaning of to her - I am hopeful that in about three years I will have a proper opponent for the game!

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