My 12 faves of Christmas :o)

So that's Christmas for another year then. This was the first one that my boy really could participate in and it was delightful. I'm not usually all that good with the festive season, but this year I had plenty of time to plan and get ready so by the time we got to the actual celebrations I wasn't nearly as stressed as usual.

Now I'm ready for a holiday and the lovely folks at Center Parcs are offering a prize that I think my very active boy would love. I agree wholeheartedly with their Winter Wonderland expert Nick Oot when he suggests keeping active and spending time outdoors. Winter walks and spending time outside help keep me sane and me and Hubbie went on a horse and carriage ride on our honeymoon in New York and haven't been on once since so we wouldn't mind giving that a go if we won :o)

Anyway, as we've all made it out the other side of Christmas - and more to the point have climbed out from under the mountain of presents that the boy received - here are my 12 favourite things about Christmas:

• Thanks to the International Space Station being visible in the sky on Christmas Eve our boy was able to witness 'Santa's sleigh' going past and his reaction was absolutely magical as he squealed with delight and clapped his hands over his wide open mouth. 

• This is the first year our boy has been genuinely excited about Father Christmas as he is old enough now to understand. My parents never let us believe in him as they didn't want to give credit for all their hard work to some fat bearded white bloke when it was a fat bearded indian bloke and his wife who had earned the money. 

• The diversity of Santas this year has been inspiring. We've seen young and old ones, all ethnicities and last weekend we had breakfast with a female Santa. The boy wasn't at all fazed by all this variety and took it all in his stride. 

• In our house it is traditional that Hubbie cooks the Christmas dinner. He really enjoys doing it and I like not having to do it. Me and the boy lay the table and choose the decorations and crackers while he toils in the kitchen. Long may it continue ! 

• Hubbie hates sprouts, but he always cooks them as it's traditional. This year - after much cajoling - my boy tried one and declared it to be, "yummy." Hubbie was horrified and dismayed at this act of betrayal. I said if he truly did like them he'd have eaten more than the obligatory one. 

• The boy has been occupied by watching the Cbeebies Christmas Carol this week. He's really enjoyed it and I'm chuffed as it was based on a proper story that eventually he'll hopefully read too. 

• It seems that our boy is forming stronger bonds of affection with us. I know he loves us, but this year he actually missed us when he stayed with my parents for Christmas Eve. We returned on Christmas morning to pick him up and he was emotional when he saw us both. It broke my heart a little, but I also felt a bit glad. 

• Staying in a hotel near Kew Bridge on Christmas Eve meant me and Hubbie were able to do something we haven't done since our boy was born - not that, don't be filthy ! We went for a run on Christmas morning along Kew Bridge and the Thames Path on what was a gorgeous, crisp and sunny morning

• Driving back from the in-laws today our boy was heckling us from the back of the car singing Christmas songs. It was even more hilarious as when I went to his nursery last week to watch the performance of the same songs he sat there staring at the others while dressed as a golden star. 

• We kept ourselves amused in the traffic jam by creating sentences from car number plates. eg. E5P GYH becomes Easy Pickle, Grab Your Hat ! Oh well I guess you had to be there.  

• I got a soup maker and an ice cream maker for Christmas - hurrah ! It's homemade soup and sorbets all the way for us now (well until I get bored of liquid food that is !)

And my favourite thing of all about Christmas is:

• Time off at home with the family. Whether it's the grandparents, aunties and uncles spoiling the boy or just us three at home. I love that our boy gets to come and lie in bed with us and watch telly or to have breakfast at a leisurely pace or that we can take him to the park to ride his scooter.  That Hubbie doesn't have to wake up before everyone is awake to get ready for work. That we get to have days together rather than hours. Yep that's the best thing about Christmas for me. 

This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots 100 December challenge. If I’m chosen, I would like to visit Elvedon Forest.