So Here It Is...

... Merry Christmas; Everybody's having fun.... Apart from the dog, who has a pom pom tied to her head. I hand-made lots of pom poms this year to go on all my presents - and to be honest, in some instances, they've elicited more joy than the actual present!

Today M and I slept quite late. It's a sign of maturity, you know! We pottered downstairs and arrived to a pile of presents from Mum and Dad; we were spoiled. I got a huge stocking filled with lovely gifts - a new make up bag, nail polish, eyeliner, a kitchen apron and other beautiful bits. Dad had painted M and I a gorgeous picture of a breaching humpback whale to go above our fireplace; I will Blip it soon.

M loved the Art Deco cufflinks I bought him - antique, from the 1920s. His present to me was a huge box, beautifully wrapped. Inside, I found... One ski boot. One of mine. A bit manky. Dirty, gritty. He's promised me a skiing holiday - and that was my clue!

After a cooked breakfast, I settled into the kitchen to make the lunch. M was mainly in charge of the turkey, but I made (all from scratch)... Cranberry sauce with orange and brandy, cauliflower cheese, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts with roasted chestnuts and bacon, bread sauce, roast parsnips, roast carrots, pigs in blankets, apricot and almond sausage-meat stuffing, and slow-cooked spicy red cabbage. Phewf! Our plates were piled high. I was very proud of myself!

After eating until we were comatose, we lay on the sofa with one of David Attenborough's documentaries. Not one to give me an easy time, M challenged me to several games of table tennis (he's installed a table in one of the unused rooms in the house). Amusingly, despite never playing before, I'm actually quite good, and beat Dad twice (he used to play in leagues when he was young) and came very close to beating M too (he took lessons and counts himself as 'pretty good'). I think I've come up with my New Year's Resolution. Haha!

M's Mum, Dad, Sister, Grandma and Grandpa came over for a glass of wine and a slice of cake later on - and we received more lovely presents.

I had a brilliant Christmas... Family, good food and a lot of laughing. Perfect.