D and I elected to have Christmas at our house because we thought it would be easier than dragging E between several houses, or trying to get her to sleep anywhere other than home. So Mum, Dad, D's parents, Grandma, my sister (and, briefly, D's brother) came here for lunch.
Mum and Dad did their usual baked ham and pudding. Grandma made her special potato salad. D's parents brought a yummy prawn, avocado and bacon entree, a salad and an orange and almond cake. I was sorry that by the time dessert rocked around I was too full to even contemplate the cake on top of the pudding! (Although I compensated for that over the next few days!) Sister S brought all the ingredients for a jug of Pimms, and a very exotic and Christmassy-looking salad made with barley, pomegranate seeds, fetta and mint. D & I got off lightly, providing another salad, drinks, nibbles and ice cream to go with the pudding. We were all very well fed.
Part of the feast
Presents-wise we also all did very well. I keep joking that we need a new house to fit all of E's loot in, but it's not far from the truth. The presents quite dwarfed our little tree!
(Our compromise between something that E could not destroy and our usual half hearted attempt (a poinsettia plant with a few decorations)).
E thought the presents were pretty good, although so was the paper...
At about 4pm E decided she had had enough of visitors and fuss and excitement and threw a complete fit, chasing all the visitors out of the house. I'd given her a smaller than usual lunch, anticipating that she would eat enough other bits and pieces during the day to compensate. Mum minced some Christmas ham for her at home and brought it along, and E ahd a great time playing with that, although I don't think she actually ate much of it. She also had fun chasing bits of potato salad around her tray, but I also suspect not much wound up inside her. By 4pm I think she though we were starving her, but at the time I thought she was just overwhelmed. Half an hour later, after the visitors had all gone away and she'd had some milk, she was perfectly happy, and we had a nice end to the day playing with all her new things.
Note to self: next year we should spread Christmas over several days as that way we can avoid the drive between Mosman Park and the hills and also avoid everything all happening all at once.
NB: for those who are interested there is another version of this post on my other blog with more photos.
Part of the feastPresents-wise we also all did very well. I keep joking that we need a new house to fit all of E's loot in, but it's not far from the truth. The presents quite dwarfed our little tree!
(Our compromise between something that E could not destroy and our usual half hearted attempt (a poinsettia plant with a few decorations)). E thought the presents were pretty good, although so was the paper...
At about 4pm E decided she had had enough of visitors and fuss and excitement and threw a complete fit, chasing all the visitors out of the house. I'd given her a smaller than usual lunch, anticipating that she would eat enough other bits and pieces during the day to compensate. Mum minced some Christmas ham for her at home and brought it along, and E ahd a great time playing with that, although I don't think she actually ate much of it. She also had fun chasing bits of potato salad around her tray, but I also suspect not much wound up inside her. By 4pm I think she though we were starving her, but at the time I thought she was just overwhelmed. Half an hour later, after the visitors had all gone away and she'd had some milk, she was perfectly happy, and we had a nice end to the day playing with all her new things.
Note to self: next year we should spread Christmas over several days as that way we can avoid the drive between Mosman Park and the hills and also avoid everything all happening all at once.
NB: for those who are interested there is another version of this post on my other blog with more photos.
3 comments:
Ah, that first Christmas is so precious. And I fully understand the dilemma of trying to fit in sleeps around all the festivities. It sounds like you balanced it really well. Take a bow! J x
I'm glad you had such a lovely Christmas. Hosting is the most fun, really and the easiest way to keep from going psycho when the kids start to lose it. x
PS - You should link to your other blog because I am interested! x
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