Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours

To all my friends and family who are scattered throughout the globe, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!

The angel on top of the Christmas tree is new this year as is the tree itself. I didn’t buy the treetop ornament because it was an angel so much but because her red “velvet” long coat trimmed in white fur reminded me of the gorgeous clothing the women wore in the movie White Christmas.

Things will get going here in earnest tomorrow. Deliver Christmas gifts to a few folks in the morning, last minute cleaning since I have a dog who sheds enough hair to grow another dog on any given day, so making one last pass with the Hoover is in order. Roast beef, potatoes, carrots, Yorkshire puddings are on the menu for tomorrow night followed by a Yule log and perhaps some pumpkin pie (if I remember to get it out of the freezer in time) with whipped cream.

The father-in-law will be joining us for supper so the two grandsons will get to open their gifts from him while he’s here. Our daughter and her youngest son, her partner and his daughter will be with us, too. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a three-year-old in the house – let alone a three-year-old girl. Sure they come over and visit but not at meal time and this will be the first time she’s been with us at Christmas! Once everyone is gone home, Santa snacks laid out, and the dishwasher running, then it’s time for our Christmas Eve movie – A Christmas Carol. And it has to be the black & white version with Alastair Sim as Scrooge (good thing I have it on DVD).

Christmas morning, the chaos begins. Our daughter and her entourage will be heading over after they’ve done their thing at her place. Her oldest son lives here and at fifteen it’s not quite so frenzied in the morning. I’ve been led to believe that he’s spending the night at her place Christmas Eve, so we’ll have even more downtime in the morning to prepare for the onslaught.

There’s usually an endless pot of coffee going starting sometime between 6:00 and 7:00 (the alarm dog won’t let us sleep past that) so there’s Kahlua and Baileys for it for those who are feeling so inclined. Once the presents are opened, I start our Christmas morning fry-up – bacon, eggs, tattie scones or fried bread, mushrooms, and the piece de resistence – sliced haggis!

About the time I start cooking breakfast/brunch, the champagne comes out along with the orange juice and we have mimosas. Clean-up from this over with, the kids go home for a while, I crash because Ifinally get a chance to sit down and my two Christmas Day movies get played – Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum and Christmas in Connecticutt with Barbara Stanwyck. Love them both! And again, I have them on DVD so can watch them as and when.

The kids come back later in the afternoon and we have more champagne along with munchies. Sometime during their absence, I’ll get the feast on for our supper. Ham and turkey, sweet potatoes and squash along with potatoes and stuffing are the meal this year for Christmas Day – probably about 6:00 – followed by pumpkin pie with whipped cream or my favourite – plum pudding with caramel sauce.

I think my shopping is done. At least I hope it is. If not, I’ll walk downtown to the supermarket at the far end of our High St and pick it up there and there are plenty of other shops along the way if I need any last minute loot.

Sometime between now and gift delivery tomorrow, I need to make a start at wrapping presents! The bedroom is stacked with them but not a one wrapped. Well, two were and both delivered – one for our gift exchange at work (took place last week) and one for the venue where we hold our local writers’ group meetings.

And that folks is the insanity that is Christmas at The House of King!

Happy Christmas to everyone! And as Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol – God bless us, everyone.