The unwrapping of Christmas

On Christmas Eve we had a quiet and restful evening together, with a (rather large) plate of crackers, thinly sliced salmon and a variety of cheeses; Brie, Philly, smoked Bavarian, cranberry cheeses. Oh, and the obligatory bottle of wine of course! We toasted absent family and friends and listened to Nat King Cole's Christmas CD.

Usually we are at the Christmas tree (no, we dont have kids, this is us.. two grown ADULTS!haha) by 5am, tearing through our gifts. I think we grew up this year. We lazed in bed, had a coffee and a waffle... then nonchalantly opened some gifts. I got a lovely beaten leather handbag, a couple of BBC period drama DVDs (bless my husband he knows how much I love them!) and a super soft flowery towel. Hubby got a remote control aeroplane, a Choclate Shop chocolate in the shape of a greek god, with 'My Hero' on it... corny I know, but hey! He also got some old war DVDs and a brown leather wallet.



We had a lovely, festive Christmas lunch with my sister in law and husband in Kent. It was a cold drive but a warm welcome. Starters were smoked trout, prawns and cold salad. We kept room for the main course of gammon, lamb with mint sauce, carrots, pumpkin, turkey stuffing (although no turkey, which suited me down to the ground), potato with gravy, yorkshire pudding and of course, the very English tradition of brussel sprouts! Ugh, not something I personally enjoy and I left it (I only took one!) on the plate... I ate a tiny bit, promise!



Pudding was traditional pudding with piping hot brandy custard. This was particularly tasty! After dinner it was pressie time - and then we said our goodbyes. All-in-all a superb day, chilled and relaxed with good food, wine and company. We do not see my sister in law very often so it's a special treat to see her.



We got to chat to family in South Africa and United States which was lovely as usual. I miss my family so much and over birthdays and Christmasses this becomes particularly hard. We happily only have one more Christmas in the UK and then we will be back in South Africa. The last cold Christmas.

Today we awoke late and pottered around in our pjs and furry slippers (okay, that was me in the slippers!). Lance made a tasty gammon with swede mash and tomato basil rice for a late lunch, with some Chilean wine. We did loads of laundry and started packing for our holiday! Only 6 days to go! Got the malaria tablets, sunscreen and fishing gear, camera equipment, pressies for family and board games... the important stuff!!!