Christmas eve traditions and dodgy nails.

Christmas Eve and all is well. We have a few traditions that Baby Boy is experiencing for the first time. Last night we took the boys and our lovely neighbour (and spare Grannie) Jill to see the lights. There is a cul de sac near where we live and the houses have the most amazing Christmas lights every year. I always take a few sneaky trips with the kids in the run up to Christmas and then we make a family visit to donate to the charities that houses are collecting for. Baby Boy loved it so much.

Christmas Eve is always spent with my family as it's my Dad's birthday. Last year we were lucky enough to spend Christmas at Coombe Mill and we really missed seeing him for his special day (we did enjoy the party hosted by Fiona, Farmer Nick and the children though). Today we went to see the family and I spent a lot of it cuddling my gorgeous 3 month old baby nephew. I remember when Big Boy was that age at his first Christmas and it was just magical.

As well as being a family day I like to remember how lucky we are to have people who care for us and enough food for everyone. We donate all year and I like to ensure that we all remember that not everyone has a great time at Christmas.  We made a drop of food, teabags, snacks, hats, gloves and socks to a charity that provides support to homeless people all year round, but especially in the colder months. I hope that they are able to make it a bit better for anyone sleeping rough. It's also worth mentioning that Sikh temples are open all year round for anyone who needs hot meal. There is no qualifying criteria and it is not shameful to ask.

Once we were home everyone got out the Christmas stockings for the morning. My family never really did them as we didn't get the point, but Hubbie is a big fan so we do them. Baby Boy has one to mark his first Christmas with us.

As well as the stockings we also do a Christmas Eve box of treats for the night before Christmas. Baby Boy loved his Penguin design and Big Boy couldn't wait to open his.

There are always new pyjamas and some new toys.This year I also added some glow sticks, Christmas socks and a bow tie each as a quirky addition. It turns out that Big Boy loved the bow tie the most. Who knew ? 

Of course the most important job to do tonight was the get a snack plate ready for Santa Claus and Rudolph. The boys put one carrot each on the tray and Big Boy insisted that we put 3 mince pies out. A little while later he reminded me that we needed to also put a bowl of milk out for Rudolph too so that was a close shave !

All that is left now is to try and get a few hours sleep before they both wake up over excited and keen to tear into everything. To say we have an embarrassment of riches would be an understatement, so I suspect it may take some time to get through all of this lot. I hope the boys appreciate how very lucky we all are. 

One final note - more to myself that anyone else - it's not a great idea to try and be creative with nail colours after a large glass of wine ! 

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!