So in November, after re-confirming with VolubleK that the plan was still good to go, I rounded up the family: StompyDad, CutLuce and DesignerMonkey, DesignerSis and Wigward all said they would come. Unfortunately though, Gran and GrandPaul declined as they wanted to have one last Christmas day lunch with Gran's second cousin and his family before his planned repatriation back to Canada. (He and his family are secular Jews who like to join in on Christmas festivities anyway.)
What we ended up with was probably the epitome of a Gen X Christmas. Family and friends, old and young, were present, and there was a smattering of tradition thrown in amongst a whole lot of 'don't act too enthusiastic - it's just another day after all'.
Our Christmas Day began with a morning visit to Gran and GrandPaul's house where we were treated to brunch - a tasty quiche, fresh cherries and of course some fine wine (obligatory as far as GrandPaul is concerned). Gran's cousin and family arrived and we did the first round of gift exchanging for the day. We gave GrandPaul and Gran a doormat with "We serve only the finest Australian wine here. Did you bring any?" emblazoned upon it, which was well-received. Also to GrandPaul an autographed copy of Free to a Good Home by Catherine Deveny (DeepSpice went to her book signing) and to Gran some smelly (floral) soaps which she always likes.
We had received our present from Gran and GrandPaul a few days earlier - a portable gazebo for our backyard (as I was after a shady place for BallFiend and Thumper to play until our trees grow bigger). However, being the generous sorts that they are, they also gave us a few more things, but the focus was really on BallFiend and Thumper who were showered with gifts.
Next stop was VolubleK's house. After we arrived, there was more frenzied exchanging of gifts, followed by lunch. The adults sat at the table, the kids ran riot and barely stopped to eat as far as I could tell. In the midst of it all though, BallFiend sat down and ate in his picky, meticulous way. He generally takes about an hour to eat a simple sandwich, so Christmas lunch with all it's unfamiliar foods took him forever, by the time he picked out all the things he didn't want to eat. After lunch BallFiend played with PetitAmi and her big sister; he particularly liked the billiard table. ("Look mum! Billion balls!!") We finished up with dessert at about 5.30 pm and didn't end up leaving until 7.00 pm, with a very, very tired BallFiend.
Here is the summary of our ill-gotten goods (seeing as we are atheists, and so don't officially qualify for Christmas goodies):
Me:
- Friendly Fire by Wil Anderson,
- Wil Anderson's Wilosophy DVD
- a purple scarf
- Space Oddity by David Bowie CD
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a box of chocolates (from Father Christmas),
- Outdoor Kids by Jamie Durie (from StompyDad)
- Mini vacuum cleaner
- (the aforementioned) gazebo
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- A book by Richard Dawkins.
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a green hat (from Gran and GrandPaul)
- a purple hat (from DesignerSis and Wigward)
- Ernie and Bert soft toys (from Gran's cousin and family).
- In The Night Garden memory game
- green teddy bear
- Dora the Explorer bowl, plate and mug set
- roll-around Fisher Price toy
- Teething rattle toy
- a few books
- some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
- a toy car
- stilts (from the playgroup Kris Kringle)
- Dora the Explorer floor puzzle
- a cricket set
- The Umbilical Brothers DVD
- a backpack for Kinder
- shoes
- green bath towel with a hood
- a quilt and pillowcae
- lots of books
- 12 inflatable mini beach balls! (Father Christmas found these on eBay)
- a large inflatable beach ball and an inflatable penguin-shaped green swim ring (courtesy of his great-aunt and uncle)
- probably some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment
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