A lovely Boxing Day in pictures

;
I bucked the trend this year and invited my Mum's family to mine for Boxing Day.
 
This day has been in the same way for as long as I can remember: my nanny and all of my maternal aunts and cousins (no uncles for many years) squeezed around Mum's dining room table on a variety of chairs, stools and garden benches; cold turkey and bubble & squeak followed by trifle or Christmas pudding; no TV but compulsory board games in the afternoon then (as if anyone needed or wanted it) tea.
 
However, my brother lives with Mum & Dad at the moment and he has a very large (though perfectly well-trained and friendly) dog which scares my aunts so much that they boycotted Boxing Day last year. So I decided to do it slightly differently.

 The kids were not forced to sit at the table, although the adults chose to.

 There was turkey and Mum's Bubble & Squeak ( I decided too much change might scare the oldies) My nanny was there looking as glamorous as every. No-one would have known she'd been in hospital 3 days earlier.

There were yet more presents and, after most guests had left, we played a new board game - just us, my brother and parents.

 

Not so very different then, but I enjoyed being allowed to host this most important of occasions.