Christmas in England

Its hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone.  But now we have some time off from work and school to relax and spend time together, so its not completely over yet.

We had a very nice Christmas celebration in our new house.  The kids left mince pies and milk for Santa, and he seemed to have enjoyed them.

When we woke up on Christmas morning, we were all excited to see that Santa had been here, and he left some of the things they wanted most.

Ben had been asking for a "motorcycle" - a two wheeler without pedals or training wheels.
Susanna was hoping for this Barbie toy that includes the ingredients needed to make sparkly lip gloss.
On Saturday, we went on a quick trip to the north coast of Devon.  The drive was 4 hours, part on the motorways and part on some winding back roads.  We learned that Susanna is rather prone to motion sickness on this trip!  We had a nice stay at a small family-run  hotel - there was an indoor pool, a toy room, a restaurant and a bar!  And we had two adjoining rooms - one with single beds for the kids and one with a double for us.  The kids loved having their own room with its own television.  The town itself was very nice, though not as lively as its likely to be in warmer weather.  We tried to walk up this hill on Sunday, but found it to be waaay too windy.  We went back this morning for another try and found success!

Now we're back home and ready to stay put for a while.  We're looking forward to a few quiet days with not much to do.  Susanna goes back to school on the 6th - I'm sure by then she'll be quite ready to go!

Switzerland

We just got back from our pre-Christmas trip to Switzerland.

We had a nice, quiet, relaxing time.  Actually, all of us were sick, and Brad and I had it the worst.  Therefore, we weren't much in the go-out-and-see-it-all mood, so we took it easy instead.

We went to Basel, which is near where Switzerland meets France and Germany.  Its a nice little city with the usual charming Swiss architecture.  We thought we'd travel a bit in Switzerland but ended up staying in Basel the whole time.

The main purpose of the trip was to see the Christmas market.  We accomplished that!  It was fairly small but very nice.  Lots of different things to buy - Christmas decorations, of course, and also toys, jewellry, bags, and much more.  Ben and Brad enjoyed the hot dogs and sausages.  We all enjoyed the hot pretzels.

We also went to the zoo which was pretty much in the center of town.  It was a fairly small zoo with small habitats for some big animals!  We seemed very close to some of the animals, including the penguins (out for a walk) and the elephants.

The kids loved riding on the trams, which were like mini-trains right on the street.  Very easy and convenient.  And we had a few nice walks up in the side streets.

The weather was nice enough - no snow, and not terribly cold either.  We stayed bundled up but were quite comfortable.

Now we're back in England and its time to get ready for Christmas.  There are still some preparations to be made - gift wrapping, food shopping, etc. and not much more time!  The kids are very excited to see what Santa will bring them, and I'm pretty excited myself!

Orange

Just another quiet evening at home...  almost time to get ready for bed.  The kids were busy playing on the computer together so I left them and ran to the bathroom.  Upon my return, Susanna was alone at the computer, and my quick search for Ben found him in the kitchen enjoying an orange.  This orange.  Peel and all!

Christmas decorations

We got our tree today, and it is already decorated, thanks to Susanna!  We also have lots of gifts under it, too!

The stockings.
Susanna and Ben's cousins, Florence and Sarah, sent them special glasses to view the tree with.  When you look at fairy lights through them the lights look like snowmen or Santas.  I managed to get a decent photo of it!  (click on it to make it bigger)
My new hand-knit, made in England nativity.
The wreath on our front door.

Room on the Broom

Today we went to see Room on the Broom at a small local theatre.  My kids love the book (and others by the author/illustrator pair) so when we saw that it was being done in the theatre, we knew we had to go.  

Its a kids show, but it was done by 4 adult actors, and a handful of puppets.  I believe that this theatre group adapted the book into a play on its own, and it was really well done.  They had songs, a broomstick, and of course a dragon, and it was funny and engaging for kids and adults.

And of course Ben's favorite part was the dragon, who threatened to eat everyone in the audience, until he was distracted by the delicious-looking witch.  

Apart from the show, we had a relaxing day around home.  Ben hasn't been feeling well and we weren't even sure he'd make the show, but I'm happy he did.  But he really needed a restful afternoon, and he wanted me to snuggle with him on the sofa which was nice!

Susanna's school play is over now after three shows, all of which I attended.  I still have her song in my head all the time.  I really can't get over how great the show was!

Tomorrow we are getting our Christmas tree and we will continue to decorate the house for Christmas.  Only one more week of school before the break - I'm looking forward to them having time off, but I plan to take advantage of every free minute this week!

Nativity play

Tonight was "opening night" of the Christmas play at Susanna's school.  

The play is called The Little Fir Tree.  Three classes of kids were in the performance - Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.  So it was a big group of 4 to 7 year olds.

It was great!  All the kids were involved, and a lot of them had their own lines, or lines with one other child.  The youngest kids were divided into three groups (raindrops, snowflakes and sunbeams) and did group dances.  Year 1 kids did the nativity play, and the Year 2 kids had other parts relating to the Fir Tree.  The nativity was incorporated into the Fir Tree story.

Susanna was an innkeeper, and she stood with a boy and sang a couple of lines.  She did very well as did everyone else.  There were no real goofs and no one seemed too nervous.  There were many songs within the play and the kids sang them well.

Tonight was also the first night that we hired a babysitter.  Ben stayed home with her so that Brad and I could go together to see Susanna (and enjoy the mulled wine and mince pies they served before the show!)  She came highly recommended from a friend and Ben was fine.  We told her that Ben could stay up until we got home (around 8:15 - quite late for him!) but he didn't make it - he curled up on the couch with his blanket and just went to sleep.

Ben and I went to the matinee performance today, and there is one more show on Thursday evening.  Tomorrow night is a big Christmas street fair in town, so this is a busy week full of late nights!  

Random Christmas questions

My cousin Tami posted a list of questions (and her own answers) on her blog, and "tagged" her readers (who have blogs too) to do the same on their own blogs.  

So here are the questions with my answers.  If you have a blog, feel free to do the same!  (Easy blog post!)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Usually paper, unless it’s a funny shape and I happen to have a bag it will fit in.

2. Real tree or artificial? Real Tree for the first time in several years.  Its coming on Sunday!

3. When do you put up the tree? This Sunday.  This past weekend seemed too early, but now this coming weekend almost feels too late!

4. When do you take down the tree? By Easter : )

5. Do you like eggnog? Actually I’m not sure.  I think I tried it and liked it, but I know its bad for you so I figure its better not to get hooked.  There are plenty of other things I love to indulge in over the holidays!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Its hard to remember my favorite, but one that made a big impression was a little gumball machine I got when I was about 5.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Susanna (because she says she really wants make-up this year.)

8. Easiest person to buy for? Ben.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I just bought a hand-knitted set off ebay (and yes it was made in England!)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, if I actually do them.

11. Worst Christmas gift you have received? I am going to decline to answer this one.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Muppets Christmas Carol.

13. When do you start shopping? Usually before summer, but this year not until November as I had no hiding places in the other house.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.



15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Baked goods of all kinds.



16. Favorite Christmas song? 

Christmas Wrapping.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We’ll be at home on Christmas day, but have trips planned before and after Christmas.

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning.



19. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Not enough time to get everything done.



20. Favorite ornament theme or color? Handmade, either by the kids or from someone else.



21. What do you want for Christmas this year? Fun stuff from the cook shop.

Merry Christmas!!