A lovely Christmas Eve in pictures

So that was it. 2 months in the planning. 3 days in the enjoying. But we did enjoy it. Lots of family. Lots of presents. Lots of food. What more can you ask from a Christmas?

Christmas Eve was a day of 3 parts - Making 178 Christingles and taking part in the Christingle Service.

 

 

Having lasagne for lunch with my in-laws and exchanging our Secret Santa gifts because we won't all be together on Christmas Day. The tradition of only buying for one adult has been in place 've known P, although the limit have risen from £4 to £10. However, this was the first year that all the children have been old enough to take part too so they bought presents for each other.

The 3rd, and most important, part as we still have 1 believer in our house and 1 pretender, was leaving our Magic Key for Father Christmas to get in to fill those expectantly hung stockings.

Nearly ready

The presents are almost all wrapped - just a few last-minute ones to do tonight (I even wrapped my own from R, which upset me more than I should have allowed it to, but that's another story)

I've got 4 desserts in various stages of finished, frozen and needing to be iced.  The gammon is cooked and the turkey is defrosting. We are not actually hosting Christmas Dinner so no veggies to prepare, thankfully.

I've cleaned the house as well as I'm going to, although the kids' rooms are a mess and likely to remain so until it's time to find a home for all their new goodies.

Stockings are ready and waiting (even the hamster's!)

I'm feeling frazzled after 3 days of sick kids being housebound and I really hope we  can get outside tomorrow before guests descend for lunch and Secret Santa.

I am looking forward to Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, provided that everyone is well and the turkey is cooked.

I'm looking forward to a lovely lunch - my sister-in-laws does a mean roast - with good company.

I'm looking forward to seeing the kids' faces as they open their presents.

I'm looking forward to hosting Boxing Day for my family - first time, and there is some pressure to pull it off (that's also another story)

I'm looking forward to those gentle days after Christmas before we go back to school when I might actually have time to tell some other stories. My blog has been sadly neglected this autumn.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL. HAVE A LOVELY TIME, WHEREVER YOU ARE.

December Daily - the most wonderful time of the year

 

I love December Daily. I love Project Life. I love having a separate Journal Your Christmas album. I love having 12x12 Christmas pages in my normal album.

But...

I am still working. I have extra Christmas events at 4 different schools to juggle and I quite like sleeping at night.

So this is my compromise. 1 6x4 per day in my PL album. All other photos and extra journaling in an 8x8 JYC album. 12x12s of my favourite pictures, but I can do those at any time.

I haven't had the time to share until now but I have kept up to date with e December Daily / PL pockets so here are the first 2 weeks of December. It's not all Christmassy yet, but there is a lot of festive fun.

Sorry they are uncropped - posted straight off the camera - but I'm sure you understand.

 



 

Add caption

 



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I've challenged myself this December to keep my portrait lens (1.8 FStop) attached to my camera in order to get some different photos of what we do every year. Liking it a lot so far.

December to do list

• Buy cards ü
• Write cards
• give cards to studentsü
• Post cards
• Prepare Advent calendarsü
• read 'The Christmas Mystery'
• wrap Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Childü
• donate bottle / teddies / cakes for Xmas Fayre ü
• help at Xmas Fayreü
• put up tree ü
• buy presents ü(mostly)
• Secret Santa ü
• wrap presents
• order postal presents from Amazon
• buy wrapping paper
• make peppermint creams for teachers' gifts
• make chilli jam & chutney
• buy Christmas jumper ü
• watch  Christmas filmü
• direct Church nativity play
• watch Carol Service
• buy paper plates, serviettes etc
• buy & cook ham for Christmas Eve
• buy Xmas pudding & brandy cream for Christmas Day
• make yule log, trifle (& gingerbread house?) for Christmas Day
• make mince pies
• make sausage rolls
• buy cheap crackers for class partiesü
• buy nice crackers for Boxing day
• buy cheese for Boxing Day
• buy treats - lebkuchen, Baileys,
• buy drinks (inc lots of soft drinks) for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day
• buy more photo paper for December daily
• Charge cameras

Have I missed anything????

OK Bring it on!

 

2 of my classes have finished - exams & Christmas parties done so now I can start focussing on the main event. I still have 2 weeks left of term and 4 hours of Controlled Assessment to invigilate (prime Christmas card writing time!) but not much teaching left.

So I have finally found my Christmas spirit this weekend!

I went late night shopping with the in-laws on Thursday night and managed to crack all my nephews and nieces.

 

I helped at M's Primary School 'Christmas Cracker' after school on Friday. 
There was face painting:


the obligatory audience with one of Santa's lookalike helpers:

                                  

and  - an unexpected result - we won the star raffle prize!

 



On Saturday, I took R and M to do their Christmas shopping for P and me and each other. We went to the cinema to watch Nativity 3. Very funny, very Christmassy and very, VERY Cheesy!

 

On Sunday, after Church & Nativity play rehearsals, we (along with everyone else, it seems) put on the Christmas music and tackled Christmas decorations. It was a proper team effort this year (except for P, who ran away!)

 

 

 

 

 

I'll try to get a better tree picture in daylight and also play around with some bokeh shots.

But the point is - with only 17 sleeps to go, there is really no escaping it! Bring on the holidays.