On Christmas Day

Early morning sunlight (oh! so early) shone through the Christmas tree as Boo dragged us into the loungeroom to unwrap his stocking gifts ...

Jumps dug the potatoes and fed the chickens ...

... while the rest of us busily set the table, prepared salads and checked the turkey ...

... although the kids snuck in a swim and sat entranced with new toys ...

... until the promise of crackers to pop and a delicious lunch brought them hungrily to the table ...

... where we feasted on Christmas fare: ham and turkey, bread sauce, greek and green salads, steamed potatoes with danish butter and parsley, sausages and freshly baked rolls ...

... then a run on the field where they all had a hand at trying out Rory's new planes, which flew beautifully up and over the stretch the lawn ...

... and finally the famous plum pud with custard and cream, pavlova, fruit salad and homemade icecream.

And then -- for me at least -- an afternoon nap in my cosy bed, while the soft rain pattered down on the peaceful world outside.

Merry Christmas to All!

May your days be merry and bright!

Visiting the Christmas Lights

Crowds of people ...

... masses of lights ...

Santas handing out sweets.

A Christmas tradition.

Early Presents

My family is notorious for early gift giving -- we're not good at waiting patiently when we're excited about a gift we've bought. Today I popped into my parents' house to see what Boo was up to, only to find him surrounded by boxes and eagerly watching as a new scooter was being assembled on the floor in front of him. Mum and Dad looked somewhat shamefaced, and explained how they'd bought him two gifts, and this one wasn't really for Christmas (in fact, I discovered later it was meant for a birthday gift ... in March!).
But somehow this was just the right time for Boo to get his new scooter. The other children haven't arrived yet for the holidays, so there's no-one to beg a ride or demand a turn, and he has been able to practise going up and down the little hill from the garage, getting less wobbly each time. There are no other toys to compete for his attention yet, and plenty of adults who have time to encourage and help him as he learns a new skill.
Perhaps getting just one early Christmas gift should become a family tradition?
PS Boo seems to have inherited the impatience gene -- yesterday morning he delightedly handed Granny the Christmas gift he'd bought for her (a darling vase bought at the markets with his own money, and filled with flowers he picked himself), then in the afternoon he returned triumphant from shopping with Grandpa and gave me a pretty glass vase as well (since I'd declared that I was jealous of Granny's gift!).

Fruit Mince Slice

I'm not madly keen on the fruity bits of Christmas: I can take or leave the festive fare of fruit cake, mince pies and steamed puddings. But the Yuletide is about tradition, after all, and it's nice to have some sweet treats in the house for visitors.
My mum-in-law has the market cornered on fruit mince pies, so this year I decided to leave the fiddling about with tiny patty pans to her, and tried this easy recipe instead. I'll even admit to buying the fruit mince filling, because, if you ask me, it's all about the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth pastry anyhow.

Ingredients

185g butter, chopped
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 3cm-deep, 17cm x 28cm pan with baking paper.
2. Meanwhile, place butter, sugar, egg, honey and flours in a food processor. Process until a dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Cut in half. Press one half of dough into pan.
3. Spread filling over slice base. Roll out remaining dough and slice into even-sized strips. Place over filling in a rough lattice.
4. Bake slice for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 180°C and bake slice for 20 minutes or until top is golden.
5. Cool completely in pan before cutting into pieces.
   

Recipe from Taste.com

Giving

Piled under the Christmas tree are twelve little gifts, each one carefully wrapped and tagged. They are all from one giver.

From one little person who, each morning for a week, conscientiously unpacked the dishwasher, then tucked the money he earned carefully into his green brocade purse. Who spent fifteen minutes in the sweet aisle at the supermarket, searching for just the right chocolate bar or packet of gum for each recipient, then emptied his purse willingly onto the cashier's counter, eyes shining as she counted each coin.

Who came home and immediately begged to wrap each gift, then chose a tag and dictated a message to each person.

And who, when he discovered there was one gift extra, gleefully instructed me to write the message: "To Boo, from Boo" and stuck it onto his own favourite sweet.

"Santa will laugh so hard when he reads this", he said. "He'll laugh so loud that I'll wake up, and then I'll go into the lounge room to see him on Christmas night!"

Christmas Party

For our mother's group Christmas party, we visited Farmer Ben, who lives just around the corner and up the hill from our house.

The kids ran through the milking shed, fed the baby calves, and jumped off haystacks into a soft mound of tangled hay at the bottom.

Boo thought he was in heaven, and joined in everything with great enthusiasm. I love that about him.

Then home where they gleefully destroyed a gingerbread house, ate party food, and each received a gift from under the Christmas tree.

But the farm was the best bit by far.

My Mother's 60th

We hired the dining room of a quaint hotel in the highlands ...

... dressed up to the nines ...

... and joined friends and family for food, laughter and conversation ...

... when the children were tired of grown-up fun, they played board games, and ran in the beautiful garden, or visited the deer at the bottom of the sweep of lawn ...

... there was music, laughter and speeches ...

... as we celebrated the life of a very special lady, who we all feel blessed to know and love ...

... and wished her many happy years ahead.

Friendsssss ...

Boo and I have been on holiday.
We stayed with Rach and baby Mathilda, helping housesit (and dog sit) for her parents. It was a busy few days, but I so enjoyed the break.
A special holiday treat was a trip to the reptile park, where we saw crocodiles, spiders, lizards and ... snakes. Boo enjoyed it all -- when it came to posing with the giant python he even insisited that he didn't need me to sit with him!

Each year we make a gingerbread house for the Christmas table -- it's something I love to do, and a beautiful Yule tradition for Boo to anticipate.
This year we baked 6 houses, and invited friends to come and join us.

Boo was amazing!
I can't believe how his skills and attention span have grown from last year to this one. He absolutely adored building and decorating, and did everything -- even the piping -- by himself. I think my little person spent over an hour fixated on his work. And he did a marvellous job (his is the one in the middle in the picture below).

One we'd finished we drank hot chocolate with marshmallows and chatted, then wrapped each house in clear cellophane and finished them off with a bright ribbon and bow.

We'll try not to eat them until Christmas Day!

I Love You

When I put Boo to bed this evening, he reached up his little arms and pulled me down into a kiss. We often try to outdo eachother with "I love you's" --"I love you to the moon and back", "I love you as big as the world", "I love you more than the universe".
Tonight, however, Boo outdid himself.
"I love you more than Intergalactic Space!", he announced.
You can tell that Granny and Papa let him watch the first Star Wars on their holiday!

Bye Bye, Baby

Boo's gone on holiday.

Which means I'm on holiday, too, naturally.

Granny and Papa whisked him away yesterday on a fun-filled caravanning adventure, just down the coast. Jumps and I watched a movie last night, and ate herb-encrusted salmon fillets in a peaceful house. We also sadly buried our first chicken casualty, which I found lying stiff and grotesque under the nesting boxes. She'd been off-colour for a few days, but I certainly didn't think she was so very ill. I just hope it's not catching, and that the other girls will be fine. It's terribly upsetting, and I'm so glad Boo wasn't here to experience it.

This morning there was a sweet little phone call, in which Boo told me breathlessly that he'd had a chocolate croissant for breakfast, and been for a long walk on the beach. Soon they're off to build sandcastles.

And I'm off to do some Christmas shopping, and buy ingredients to bake 4 gingerbread houses to decorate with friends on Friday evening. I'm not sure if the travellers will be back this afternoon or only tomorrow ... whichever it is, I'm relishing my quiet time!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
I hope you and the reindeer and well, and Merry Christmas!
I would lke a sword and shield set and maybe a hot wheels set and maybe powerminers lego and also maybe a bionicle or technic and dressups (incredible hulk).
from Boo

Decorating the Tree