Our Christmas 2014 {The Ordinary Moments}

I know Christmas isn’t really ordinary but this year was what will one day be a typical, ordinary Christmas for us and one that we all really enjoyed and hung on to for as long as it lasted. This Christmas felt like our first ‘proper’ Christmas as LP was old enough to understand it and I think we all got swept up in the Christmas magic this year.

We spent Christmas Eve getting the children’s hair cut, relaxing, baking and tidying the house ready for Santa’s arrival. The children had their Christmas Eve box and watched countless Christmas movies before venturing outside to hang Santa’s key up, throw reindeer food everywhere and watch Santa fly overhead – thanks ISS for your amazing timing! This was one incredible special part of Christmas Eve for me – both LP and Little Man walking around outside shouting for Santa, waiting for him to arrive. We then came in and LP had a phone call from the Portable North Pole Santa which was the icing on the Christmas magic cake for me – I could have cried. Her face, telling us how Santa was coming and how she’d seen him in the sky. That whole day is one that I would love to bottle and relive over and over.

The children left Santa a mince pie, glass of milk and carrot for Rudolph before having a bath, getting their new PJs on and reading The Night Before Christmas in our bed. They both went to bed without a fuss and slept until just before 8am on Christmas morning.

Santa leaves the presents under the tree in our house so the children put their dressing gowns on and we all went downstairs to see if Santa had been. LP went into the lounge first and took it all in before saying ‘Presents! Santa’s left presents for me and brother!’. We then had a relaxed hour or so of taking it in turns to open presents whilst drinking tea and enjoying the moment before having a break to have homemade chocolate croissants and get ready into our Christmas clothes.

We then had another present opening session, some playing and I started to put Christmas lunch in the oven although I’d prepared most of it the day before – Christmas is for playing, laughing and saving every moment to memory, not for being stuck in the kitchen!

Unfortunately for LP we realised at this point that we had a little unwelcome visitor for Christmas – conjunctivitis. LP soldiered on all day with the help of some eye drops Dave managed to go and get from the chemist but her poor eye got worse through the day and her other eye was also infected by the end of Boxing Day. After she was poorly last Christmas too I am hoping that we’ll have a sickness free Christmas next year!

Dave’s lovely parents came round in time to open yet more presents before lunch and we cracked open the champagne – I had a glass or two of Bucks Fizz and really enjoyed it after a few years of being pregnant or breastfeeding!

Christmas dinner was lovely – even if I do say so myself – and we finished just in time to watch the Queen’s speech followed by an afternoon of Disney movies and playing. It was relaxed, informal and perfect.

After Dave’s parents went home Dave and I cracked open the cheese and biscuits, drank cups of tea and watched some Christmas TV. Boxing Day was spent with yet more relaxing, a visit from my Brother ‘Uncle Treasure’, a traditional buffet lunch and then yet more relaxing.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for more from Christmas this year, I loved it and cannot wait for next year when Little Man will be able to appreciate it a bit more too.