Other Christmas Events

The night before Alec was set apart we squeezed in a birthday dinner for Anne at our house. (So that week went Saturday: Alec's farewell; Sunday: Bishops Youth Discussion at our house; Monday: Anne's birthday party; Tuesday: Alec's setting apart; Wednesday: Alec Leaves; Friday: Pine Christmas Concert.)

Max is mad for all things Mighty Ducks - and in the absence of ice has taken to playing hockey with roller blades and a golf club - in the house.

Helen and Gary and family arrived for a couple of weeks of family and sunshine. Dinner was at our house. Lots of fun with no photos.

We invited the Simpson family for dinner the next day and heard the best Santa Clause story. When Carolyn was in grade two her parents divorced - leaving not much ready cash for Christmas which meant that Santa was a bit skint that year. Carolyn was a bit surprised that her friend down the road had lots of Santa toys - so her friend told her 'you know Santa is really your Dad'. Carolyn thought for a moment then dismissed it because 'if Santa is my Dad then how come he gave you lots of presents and me none.' Thereby proving that Santa was not her Dad!

Christmas Elves came to our house. Samantha and Anastasia came with a basket full of presents and overflowing with Christmas cheer - they were too cute for words. These are good people for the big kids to have for friends. There were homemade treats and presents for all and they stayed and chatted and told funny stories too. Then left in time to climb Mt Ngungun with Thomas and Jesse that night.

And the Walkers (except Donald and Lisha an family) came todiner - and we got to meet Rex - who I like.

Christmas Day

Presents

Eggs Benedict for breakfast compliments of Jesse

Talking to Alec for an hour (he has a much more generous mission president than Tom who was only allowed 20 minutes)

Anne's house for family presents

Petie's house for a seafood lunch - with enough seafood for 20 people (we had 10 people)
and more presents.

Then a swim at Little Cove

And dinner at Warren & Helen's - with cousins, aunts and uncles, turkey and pudding.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve may be my favourite part of Christmas - it's the only part with fairly firm traditions. For everything else we pretty much go with the flow but Christmas Eve has become quite ritualised over the years.

This year we had dinner at Lee and Joan's with the Hugo family from Joan's ward - fish, special volkhorn bread, hummus, olives, feta and orange juice - and damper.

And we had an extra nativity at Joan's house.

Peter Hugo is more than a little bit musically talented and he brought his harp - that he made by hand - to play for us. And Joan joined him on the Cello for Away in a Manger.

Tom sang Angels we Have Heard on High - in Russian. (I think he gave a total of five performances over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)

Thomas was Joseph, seated beside Mary, with Roger the wiseman and Lee as King Herod.

After rounding up that lovely part of the evening we drove across to Becky and Trav's where Becky had hung pictures of Christmas past all over the walls - lovely.

Paul and Lynn and Tahlia came this year too. We had the nativity play and the present game before Becky and Travis went back to work - leaving us with an enormous box of rocky road to munch on all the way home.

Finally, the kids all slept in the shed while Roger and I played Santa.

And this year beside our stockings we found a note and a chocolate from Peet, Lousia and Max saying that they were playing Santa as well this year for Roger and I - too sweet.

Christmas - the short version

Christmas Eve:

Traditional - dinner at our house - fish, feta, olives, hummus, volkhorn bread, oj. Looked like rain so we moved to the verandah.

Petie brought her brand-new-picked-up-that-afternoon Audi TT - to a great deal of excited anticipation.

Dessert and Nativity reading at Becky & Trav's - present game too. Usually the nativity is acted out but this year we did a reading and had words to hymns (and reading) printed and a cd for music to sing along to. Very nice.

Late home - kids slept in girls room - even Alec. Max stayed up past midnight making up raucous songs about Santa Clause (who was getting desperate for Max to go to sleep.)

Christmas Day:

Presents at home

Off to Granny's house.

Swim.

Presents.

Cook first Turkey & salads.

Lunch -- lots of it.

Cook second turkey.

Sleep.

Dessert (Lisha's ice cream cake).

Talk to Tom - he sounds the same and happy.

Pack for the beach.

Dinner at Lee & Joan's (turkey & veg).

Boil Pudding.

Sleep or talk or watch TV.

Pudding with amazing custard at 9.30 pm.

Leave for Sunshine.

Arrive at Sunshine just before midnight.

Sleep.

Max

We pair up a big kid and a little kid to go Christmas shopping - usually Jesse goes with Max and Peet goes with Louisa. Then we turn them loose in a shopping center.

Jesse and Max spent an inordinate amount of time in Borders. Max found a book with a monkey on the cover and told Jesse he would really like that book.

Jesse: Oh

Max: Yeah I really like monkeys - it 'cause we're related.

I can feel a FHE lesson on the creation coming up early in January.

The groups meet up and swap partners so they can buy for each other. So Peet and Max went to buy for Jesse and Louisa. Peet asked what Max would like to get for Jesse - 'I don't know - she didn't really give any clues this time.'

Peet told Jesse later and she was aghast "I said 'Max, when you are shopping with Peet I would like this' maybe four times." Maybe she should have been more subtle - still there's no doubting his masculinity!

Yesterday Max was talking about Christmas presents with Jesse and told her that 'your present was hard because you didn't give any clues, but it was alright because Peet remembered that you wanted that little book'. Apparently we're not so much into surprise this year!

Night in Bethlehem

We have a new and enthusiastic Ward Activities committee - so the Christmas party this year was a bit special - a night in Bethlehem. I was not pleased - I'm all about simplicity and this involved dressing up - but I got on board when Jesse made most of the costumes.

(Roger and I had our 23rd wedding anniversary on Friday and our kids were so sweet all week and kept encouraging us to take a night off and go to Sunshine - along the lines of 'you could have dinner and go swimming - it will be great'. So sweet I thought - till I came home on Saturday afternoon to discover that they had actually been planning a party for Friday night. Not a wild party - Robert and Samuel were on the guest list- but a party none the less - at my house - my messy house. Jesse claims it was more of a gathering and apparently they turned off the verandah lights so no one could see the mess! Max and Louisa loved it - so did Jesse and Alec. Peet was in at Joan's for a dinner party so he could go mountain biking the next morning. So it was lucky that Jesse was almost finished making everyone's costumes by the time we got home!)

LilyRhadika came too - she is a fixture at ward Christmas parties. And since she and Louisa have long felt they are twins separated at birth, Lily ate a grasshopper - just to be one of the family.

Jesse was a roman soldier - probably present in Bethlehem but not quite in the spirit of things - the girl is obsessed by all things Roman. Max was a lowly (and picked upon) shepherd.

Peet dressed up reluctantly and helped out at the food stall that Anne and I were running.

Roger had a 'Bishops Inn' and Alec skipped out for the night to go see Twilight - serves him right for not going to the ward Christmas party.

Celebrate

The Christmas tree is up and decorated.

Some of us were more into it than others.

Walker Family

Sunday afternoon was at Wayne & Joan's land at Laidley for a family BBQ. Lee & Joan were in Toowoomba for the day and came down, we went out after church, Alister came back from camping at 1770, Donald, Lisha and kids were camping there, and Lindsay and Fiona brought their 2 and a half kids out for the afternoon. Campbell and Alec were on the YSA Convention - we figure it must be going pretty well since neither of them were keen enough to leave to come out for the afternoon.

Wayne has built a 'shed' on the land - it's huge, with a bathroom and 2 large rooms, made of a brick that looks sandstone-ish and has fantastic barn doors that he made. Joan and Lisha had decorated the shed with a Christmas Tree, more decorations than I had at home and lots of lights. It was gorgeous and welcoming. A house in similar vein will follow next year. Though I think I would be tempted to live in the shed.

Wayne had also bought a go cart - which apparently had a fair bit of use from big boys and little kids before we got there - then we put on a few more kilometres - heaps of fun - and Roger spent a half hour this morning checking eBay and the Trading Post for similar.

After a couple of practice runs Max got to ride solo - which I think may be one of his lifes highlights so far.

The go cart also had to fixed part way through the afternoon - but if there is a better place to fix a broken go cart - or better people to do it - I can't imagine where it could be.

There was also a big pile of sand which Wayne had ordered and dumped especially for the kids to play in.

The big highlight for the kids was the other kids - all of whom are too cute for words actually.

Donald and Lisha's boys Sam - who looks just like Donald -

Ethan

and Toby.

And Lindsay and Fiona's Ava

and Riley, both of whom Louisa and Max remembered from Tom's farewell party.

Christmas Night

We had Christmas dinner with the Thomas side of the family at Warren & Helen's house. Sue & Graham, Paul & Lyn and Becky & Trav came too - thought Beck & Trav were very late. They got to Carseldine (an hour and a half from home for them) and realised they had left the pudding at home. A vital part of Christmas dinner so they went back.

Warren got the Jeep out - Louisa's highlight.

We ate too much - and the turkeys Joan and I cooked at home stayed warm - and then ate too much again when Beck & Trav arrived with pudding.


A possum came down to entertain us too.

Christmas Morning

After getting home from Beck & Trav's at 11.15 pm everyone went straight to bed - the plan had been to all sleep outside together - but it was raining and everyone was too tired to be overly disappointed.

Hence nobody woke up till about 5.45 am. Not too bad really. We opened stockings - which included chocolates from Hot Chocolate and a soft toy each that Jesse & Louisa sewed.

Then family presents - the highlights of presents were:

Max - roller blades, Optimus Prime toy from Alec, and his light sabre from Lee & Joan on Christmas Eve - which led him to remark that Joan and I never spend money - but Lee does - with which I hastily agreed.

Louisa - Boogie Board, duffel bag and the teddy bear from Lee & Joan.

Peet - Tent, new Emily Rodda book and Motorbike DVD from Lee & Joan

Jesse - Framed Everest photo and map from Joan and Lee, Earrings from Anne, 11 books (well 9 of them were a boxed set of Little House on the Prairie books - for her glory box collection of children's books)

Alec - Welding helmet, lures from Lee & Joan

Roger - Leatherman, Top Gear DVD from Louisa and Peet

Kim - Bug catcher from Jesse and Max, The Kite Runner from Alec

Everyone - the softies toys Jesse & Louisa made and put in the Santa Stockings.

After a bit of playing and cooking we went up to Anne's for more presents....

lunch....

and some relaxing after a long day.