A Very Merry Christmas

And it was a very merry Christmas. Whilst I really enjoy the Christmas feast it is the lead up that I really enjoy. Our Christmas feast stays much the same from year to year, some minor tweaking of the veg may occur but it is fundamentally the traditional roast as it appears in the Christmas section of this blog. It is all the making, baking, decorating that makes it Christmas for me. The arrival our first grandchild Oscar has added another level of joy to our Christmas celebrations.

O is for Oscar. My daughter in law Rachel asked me if I would make Oscar a stocking, our son Liam still has his and each year he we put his Christmas loot in it.

Even though he is too young to appreciate this Advent calendar I had a lot of fun putting it together. There are twenty four numbered hooks and pockets to house a small gift. The Advent calendar is a Maileg Elf. My plan is to do this every year as a family tradition.

Oscar seems to be enjoying the fun.

I have begun to collect a bauble for each year, his name and year. The baubles will go on one of the hooks of his Advent Calendar.

I love the ritual of doing the tree, both the setting up and then the packing away

It is all very interesting for a young man.

And doing the Santa production. Each year I do a run. This is the second year of making the star Santa, the swag is the plan. Next year everyone will get a third Santa and they can be sewn together to form a small swag 

The pudding was made and stirred

Tons of biscuits, cakes and panforte de sienna cakes were made for my gift hampers

It was fun to decorate the dining table with this metal tree, lights and Lindt ball chocolate baubles. This has been a hit with many guests.