Did you have a good Christmas? Did Father Christmas prove that you’d been a good girl this year?
I won’t apologise for my absense because it’s been a lovely – if unintended – break from the blog. I couldn’t believe that it had been over a week since my last post when I checked last night and I got the immediate guilts before breaking into another packet of dry roasted peanuts (diet starts next week, thank god), reaching for the orange juice (and the vodka) and settling down to a late-night blast of GTA IV with my husband. You see, before L came along – we loved nothing more than playing video games late into the night and it’s something that we don’t do anymore… until this Christmas. Cue lots of bleary-eyed mornings with Leila jumping on the bed and us begging her for five-more-minutes. Kids are the toughest nuts to crack, the gestapo wouldn’t have broken her resolve, so we’ll need to get back into our normal routines again very soon before we die of sleep deprivation!
But, it has been nice… and I can’t wait for next Christmas… (don’t shoot me!)
I said goodbye to my sister and her family a couple of days ago when they flew back to Australia, it always rips my heart out a little… she emigrated when I was 8, you’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I always get a bit melancholy over a sister/sister relationship that we’ve never been able to cultivate due to the distance (and the fact that I’m rubbish on the phone!) Anyone else have a similar bittersweet Christmas experience when it comes to relatives?
Anyway, Christmas is all about kids and I hope that I managed to make Leila’s magical. As a three year old, I feel that this is the first Christmas that she’s really understood and I’ve layed it on as thick as I could. The best Christmas gift I can give her is that unadulterated Chrimbo excitement that will hopefully follow her into her adult years so that she can pass it on to her children one day. Having said that, she did have a plate of cocktail sausages for her Christmas dinner, so it might not be quite as fully traditional as I’d hoped!
Here’s some photos from our first family Christmas in our new home together, the first I’d had away from my Mum and Dad in 31 years!
Christmas nails with Butter London Knees Up and The Full Monty
Slightly healthy mincemeat and apple pies (but only ‘cos I didn’t make enough pastry for lids!)
Our first family Christmas tree!
Our 2nd Christmas tree (a mini 3ft one for the sitting room)
Our poundshop angel bought in panic when Leila decided life couldn’t continue without a tree angel after we’d bought a star *sigh*
Our mini tree – the only one we could squeeze in the sitting room!
Decs and cards!
Reindeer in the New Forest
Leila visiting a winter wonderland in the New Forest
She wasn’t too keen on Father Christmas, cool threads though!
It’s not Christmas without a dirty chicken tikka kebab…
… and a few episodes of The Avengers! (especially “Too Many Christmas Trees”)
Our bargain Christmas lamp from Tesco!
Packing up the Christmas Eve box full of excitement-making goodies
It’s CHRISTMAS EVE!!!
Christmas Pyjamas at my Mum and Dad’s house!
Someone is excited!
Don’t tell anyone, but we ran out of Mince Pies! Father Christmas got the “pick” of the Celebrations box though…
JUST. ONE. MORE. SLEEP!
Nearly there!
We might be family, but all niceties are off when it comes to bowling.
My Christmas ballerina.
Christmas Dinner and Crackers!
Leila’s new coat! (and Calamity Jane outfit + Christmas Jumper!)
Christmas Dinner (pyrex jug for gravy = classy bird)
onion rings = even classier bird, what?!?!
Baileys in a Guinness glass… I’ll just stop pretending now shall I?
…and he did!
No chimney here, thank God for magic keys!
Merry Christmas from us xxx
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Lovely pictures – thanks for sharing
thanks Pinot! x
I don’t know where to begin with this comment..
Firstly, I’ve missed reading your blog, I’ve not had a decent go of it since about July?
Christmas isn’t about class, you can be as tacky as you like! And at least your gravy was in a decent ‘pourer’. We couldn’t find any gravy boats so it was served out of John Smith pint glasses.. Leila looks like she had a fantastic time..I expect to see her Calamity Jane outfit on all the fashion blogs come July time. Also, I’m liking your new hair which I assume you’ve had for a while but it’s new for me!
You want to see how ruthless my family become when we’re playing Monopoly, me and my brothers have often had fistfights over it, especially when someone had hidden 100 notes under their leg.
I stayed with my young cousin a few Christmases ago and he left out a bag of carrots for Father Christmas..which I had to chow my way through before the morning. That was a painful Christmas Eve but I now know that carrots soak up alcohol very well.
Your potatoes leave me with a quizzical look on my face, how did you make them?
Hey you! Those spuds are Hasselback, but I regret them… you can’t beat proper roasties. Lesson learned – don’t fuck with Christmas dinner (too much – the sprouts are dispensible). Yeah the hair is old you blog slacker! I’ve just bought the dye to go back to brown actually, hoping my dehydrated hair doesn’t suck me into a jet black hole with it though. I’m so glad that someone has finally found a decent use for carrots. I knew that seeing in the dark thing was a crock of shit. 😉
Happy New Year babe x
What great pictures! Especially the last one, of you and your daughter–how cute 🙂
Thanks Marilyn, I don’t get too many of me and L together seeing as I’m usually behind the camera!
Great pictures, Leila looks very cute and I especially love the last pic of you two
Thanks Meeta, have a lovely New Year missus!
Your Christmas looks so wonderful and Leila is such a cutie! We always have gravy from a pyrex jug at home. Gravy boay shmavy boat! And your roast dinner looks so yum.
The Santa key is such a wonderful idea. When I think back to being a kid, I can’t remember ever questioning how Santa got in, despite living in a flat with no chimney. He must have used a Santa key!
xx
Santa Keys FTW, it’s the only way – Leila wasn’t convinced mind… she has an enquiring mind! Hope you had a good one too xx
Great pictures! Thank you for sharing & the last pic of you and your daughter, adorable! 😀
Thanks Icaria xx
EEek, typing with a MASSIVE lump in my throat. Seems like moments since Em and Tom were three and Christmas was magical in the way only children can make it, I am now LONGING for grandchildren (and for someone to disable my caps lock key) so that it can be magical again. That last photo of the two of you is totally adorable, trounced only be Leila in her xmas pj’s!! Happy New Year to you all. xxx (oh and keep it up, it works I promise – Em at 20 is nearly as excited on Christmas Eve as Leila was this year and was horrified that some of her friends suggested going into town, for her Christmas is all about family.)
Thanks lovely, yeah I imagine that the time goes SO quickly, I’m making the most of it and trying not to take too much for granted. So lovely that Em still puts family first, she’s a diamond that girl! Happy New Year to you and yours D, much love xx
Awww lovely pics, losing weight can start next year. I did and have lost 8st 3 with a way to go but hey families come first 😀
Wow, well done you – that’s incredible… I just need to finish off what I’ve started and I’m so saturated with Xmas food that I can’t wait to eat healthily again. Happy New Year!
Your Christmas looks lovely and it’s so great to see such happy smiling photos! Love your little one’s Christmas pyjamas! 🙂
Thanks Lexi, it was definitely filled with smiles and mercifully few arguments! Happy New year to you x
Aww Avengers fan you angel 🙂 love the pictures too. Just thought l pass on my thanks for a great blog wot you wrote and l look forward to keeping up with your blog next year dunno how you do it though. Anyhoo put the baileys in pint glass and l’ll raise you 2bottles of red. Happy new year to you and your family x
Ah, how refreshing to see a blogger having a normal ol’ Christmas, and not a designer, diamond-studded turkey with rolled gold sprouts accompanied with the distilled tears of virgins in champagne glasses. Your warmth comes across in spades and that’s why I like you lotses. I too serve up gravy in a pyrex jug, and so does everyone I know. Pyrex is the new Le Crueset, donchaknow! 😉
I love Leila’s festive jammies, and as for onion rings with Christmas dinner? Yoinking that idea, missus. Happy New Year to you. x x
furry coat + clamity jane + christmas sweater = most awesome outfit ever!
so glad you and your family had a lovely holiday. thanks for sharing! xxoo.
Love, love, love all your photos, that one at the end has your skin looking like it’s being lit by a million flattering candles, talk about lovely and glowy. Onion rings with your dinner sounds like touch of genius to me, must try that. Calmity Jane outfit on Leila has to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen – it looks like she’s had a brilliant Christmas. Hope to see you do a big blog post of Christmas pressies soon
My Christmas has been spent lazing around, watching hubby kill stuff in games too (Catherine, Red Dead Redemption, The Walking Dead and Max Payne have been on the go). It usually consists of me yelling at him where to go and what to do and then him having the co-ordination to actually do it. It’s pretty good teamwork. I wish I was better at playing them – I tend to stick with the same ones, Final Fantasys and PSO never gets old.
My pressies included the Babyliss Big Hair which hasn’t arrived yet, a Touche Eclat gift set in the Harrods sale (can’t believe I’ve never tried this before despite all the hype), Bravissimo vouchers galore, a Daylight alarm clock to try and stop me being such a bitch in the mornings, some Escentric Molecules perfume which is yum and silly silly amounts of make-up and nail polish. If you like holos, Color Club Halo ones are amazing and pretty cheap too.
Have loved reading your blog this year, it’s been great fun and given me lots of giggles. Have a great new year in your new home 🙂 xx
Such a lovely post! Looks like you all had a fab Christmas. Leila is so cute!! Happy New Year xx
What a wonderful holiday! I had to comment because we too lack a gravy boat, and thus had a “gravy bowl,” (read: big, glass, pyrex bowl of gravy). Glad I wasn’t the only one!!! :o)
thank you for making me feel better about my ill-preparedness! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!