The Christmas tree was a bit mutilated this year, but it still smells good. Steve cut off too many lower branches so that it would fit into its stand, so it’s got a trunk that is clearly visible instead of having greenery down to the ground. Lucky all the presents provide a bit of camouflage, and the decorations, initially by my girls, then re-modelled by the older cousins, are top notch.
The girls had a long long list of things they wanted from Santa. I took a photo of it so we could convey the essentials when we went to have a photo with him, in case we forgot the list itself (which we did). I was torn between wanting to give Santa the short version and understanding the girls’ need to convey the full extent of their hopes and desires without censorship at this early stage. Of course I read him out the whole list, after he had asked Lara to read it to him. ‘I thought that Santa can read but it seems not’ said Lara afterwards. ‘Who’s that?’ asked Rhea in genuine confusion, looking at the picture of the red-and-white-costumed man in the Santa banner, who was clearly not the man whose knee they had just sat on.
The tooth fairy came the same night as Santa because one of their cousins lost a tooth, so it was a busy night for the magical beings. It was also a busy night for some of their human helpers: Penny and Pierre had forgotten to bring Santa’s presents for their children and only realised at 10pm on Christmas Eve, so it was a round trip of three hours to retrieve it from the city, through an uncharacteristic misty summer fog.
Happily the day did not disappoint, for the girls’ cousins or for them. While Rhea and Lara received less than half of their requests, they were happy with what they did receive overall. And they kept the secrets they had been asked to keep about other people’s presents that they knew about. While Steve’s mum presided over the turkey, ham and beef, we all made our own salads to contribute, mine being my family’s traditional ‘minty mushrooms’ with cooked mushrooms, mint, white onions and vinegar – one of my favourite dishes, all the more special because we only ever have it at Christmas.
It was a 32 degree day so we had a swim at the beach before dinner, the girls frolicking in the sunny waves with their cousins, uncle, aunt and I. Lara, Rhea and Lola then played with their new toys and the girls’ twin prams on the deck back at the house before we all ate a dinner of leftovers in the falling light. By 10pm the girls, determinedly not tired, were still wandering around. Rhea got her way and had a three-legged race using tinsel with her cousin Will.
Until next year then, Happy Christmas to you too. I’ll keep my mind firmly in the moment, drawing my attention away from the present just long enough to wish for all of us that 2017 not be as bad as we fear.
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