The Tinsel Reindeer, Aylesford

Day 359 of 365.Woke up early today to open our presents - for some reason Christmas Day is never the same unless we get up before it gets light. So it was just the tree lights, presents and a glass or two of Buck's Fizz, followed by a bacon roll. Perfect!
Christmas has a pull on me in other ways, too as my mum passed away in early December three years ago and her funeral was on the 22nd December that year. On the day of the funeral the sun came out for the first time in days and this so helped us get through that very emotional day. Christmas Day this year was exactly the same - cold and sunny and, as we have done every year since she died, we went down to visit her grave and lay flowers. She loved Christmas so always has a reindeer with her that we decorate with tinsel (today's image).
We then went back to the house to prepare Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and this year, for the first time in many, we had guests - my dad and his wife. We had a really lovely time and the food tasted wonderful. For some reason me and my brother don't mind making Christmas dinner (we do all the cooking in our house) - I think it's taking time to prepare it and cook it with plenty of alcohol in between the stages!