Merry Christmas

Sunday:

Merry Christmas everyone!

We spent the days leading up to Christmas cleaning the house, shopping and cooking, ready for Christmas for 20. We all got involved in icing the gingerbread, here is a selection.

We were very happy that both the window and the shade sail for the pool were finished in time for Christmas. Depending on the time of day, the sail can shade anything from a thin sliver to most of  the seating area and up to a quarter of the pool. It has definitely helped ward against sunburn already, we are swimming every day with temps in the 30s. Yesterday the air was 36 and the water was 34! Almost like a bath. We were thinking of getting an image printed on the sail - a phoenix flying overhead - but it was delaying things too much so we decided to just get the plain canvas.

On Christmas morning it was up early for presents. We usually host Christmas lunch but this year we switched to dinner (evening) so we had a relaxed morning examining our presents and having an indulgent breakfast.

The afternoon was chaotic as family came and went at different times - to swim, to share presents, going home again to finish their dinner contribution then come back. It wasn't so much fun, Tim and I would have liked to be in the pool (in between tending to the turkey) but had to take turns waiting in the house to let people in. Actually when I did have a swim it wasn't much fun either due to the little girls, but more on that later. Then there was a lot of waiting around for 20 people to be ready at the same time to open presents together. Like herding cats.

Finally we all sat down to dinner together and that was lovely. As usual everyone contributed... more or less. The two unreliable branches of the family didn't bring what they said they would (of course) which was kind of funny after the mini texting war over what they wanted to bring, especially over the trifle! Only two of us provided dessert instead of four, and they didn't seem to bring much else instead. But there was plenty of food anyway, just my turkey and roast vegetables would be enough for a normal dinner and there were lots of other contributions. The turkey was tender and delicious, the secret is lots of butter! Here you see it half carved.

We played some board games in the evening. The little kids were all very tired and cranky and over-sugared by that point so were eventually taken home to bed.

On Boxing Day we cleaned up the mess from the day before (Tim's aunt had done some washing up, but basically we do it all and are also left to somehow fit all the rubbish and recycling in our bins, it takes weeks to catch up with stinky food waste stored in the freezer - oo another little gripe while I'm here one person took leftover prawns home at my suggestion BUT shelled them here and left the shells and heads in our bin! All the bulky stinky bit for us, gee thanks) then everyone came back for lunch to celebrating Tim's father's birthday. We cooked some BBQ and had leftovers from Christmas, and I made another dessert and bought a cake. Then more board games and swimming in the afternoon. The little kids were all still really overtired, one threw up (too much junk food?) and were generally out of sorts.

Oh my goodness, a word on the little girls. Emma is 5 and Eliza is 4. Emma doesn't have firm control over her emotions and there are frequent tears and tantrums. Eliza thinks she can get away with anything as long as she has a big cheeky grin on her face. Together.... well. Apart from making a huge mess and the dizzying changes from best friends to hated enemies, this holiday period they found the box of Christmas Crackers and sat down and opened every one, and then much worse when somehow unobserved they pulled all the almost-ripe peaches off our dwarf tree (and put them in one mother's bag, clearly intending to take them home) which has wasted half of them as I don't think they will ripen - the whole year's carefully watered crop! So annoying! In the pool they need constant attention of course, they both have swimming lessons but they are only little. They constantly swim out too deep then have to grab on to someone, and if that someone is not strong (Jasmine or Aiden) or a good swimmer (me) then we all nearly drown. Jasmine is a good swimmer but can't do much while trying to hold up a child in each arm. And the parents do nothing, usually tending to the younger child in their arms (we have 3 two-year-olds). I usually avoid disciplining other people's children, but if they are in my house or pool I guess I'll have to start. I was really pissed off about the peaches and did tell them not to do that again.

I was exhausted by the end of Boxing Day and I was really wishing people would leave. Some hung around to well after I wanted to be eating dinner (leftovers) and collapsing. They might have been hoping for an invitation to stay but I needed down time! Finally got them out. I spent most of the following day napping, completely worn out from days of cooking and cleaning and general chaos. I feel like I didn't enjoy it all as much as in previous years. Maybe I'm getting too old to host two days in a row. And the family gets bigger and bigger.

The few days since then it has been really hot, we stay inside as much as possible. I had to do some grocery shopping Friday morning and went at 9am, it was already scorching. Quiet days reading and computer games all morning, board games together in the afternoon (we got five new ones this Christmas!)then a swim. Even with the shade sail we don't risk swimming in the middle of the day, although lying in the hammock in the shade is nice. Family are coming over this afternoon for a swim and then the usual Sunday afternoon Dungeons and Dragons and dinner, it won't be all 20 though! Probably 8-10, I never know for sure.  

Merry Christmas

Monday:

It's Boxing Day morning for me now. Yesterday was busy and exhausting and fun. I got the turkey in the oven early then we opened all our presents and relaxed while we could. Then I spent a couple of hours in a whirlwind of cooking then everyone came over for lunch. I think we had 16 in the end, not counting the babies. The only stressful moment was due to one couple (who didn't bring any food contributions - even though they said they would) who are currently only eating seafood. I had two people who offered to bring seafood, one forgot to bring the dish - and the traffic was terrible, they couldn't go back for it - and the other was late - again due to the unusual traffic - so for a while I thought this couple weren't going to get much to eat. I was wondering whether to heat up some fish fingers, but then aunty Vanessa showed up late with a beautiful salmon.

I've just got used to Tim's family, lovely though they are, being rather unreliable in things like this. It's been the same in previous years. People say they will bring a particular dish, or Christmas Crackers or whatever, then don't. This year two people didn't bring desserts when they said they would, one said they left it behind, the other just didn't mention it at all. This is why I over-cater! I'd made a chocolate cheesecake and a fruit salad and bought ice cream, and one person brought the trifle they'd promised. We were fine.

After lunch we opened more presents, ate snacks, and played Trivial Pursuit. We had several editions out and people could chose which box to take their questions from. Jasmine and I won playing purely from her new Christmas present "Harry Potter" trivial pursuit edition. Tim and Aiden were doing well mostly answering from the "World of Warcraft" (computer game) box, everyone else mostly used the normal questions with the occasional Harry Potter.

The babies slept almost the entire time. The two three-year-old girls were getting a bit tired by mid-afternoon. Most people left by late afternoon, I was pretty exhausted by then, but my brother stayed and a couple who had lunch with her family came for dinner. I cooked some fettuccini boscaiola to go with lunch leftovers. Finally everyone was gone around 10pm and we collapsed into bed.

To get up and do it all again today....

****

It's Tim's father's birthday on Boxing Day so we always all get together again for a BBQ. In the afternoon we usually all go to whatever big fantasy/sci-fi movie has just been released (so this year would have been Rogue One) but with three little babies didn't organise that this year. We set the house to rights, vacuuming and running the dishwasher for the umpteenth time and collecting all the empty glasses from around the house etc. Then it was time for me to start cooking again. Tim mans the BBQ and I do the side dishes and the desserts. We had another lovely family lunch (I think 16 again today, slightly different mix from yesterday) then I sat in the lounge with a couple of other women and a baby or two while others played Mah Jong and then Dungeons and Dragons, I was just too tired. Quiet chat was about as much as I could manage.

The only drama moment today was when one mother left her sleeping baby and happy three-year-old here briefly to drive her parents home a suburb away. Of course almost the moment she left, the baby woke starving. The daddy was trying to distract her when the three-year-old jumped down four stairs heavily and hurt her foot and started screaming louder than the baby. I took the baby and the daddy gave the little girl attention. I spent 15 minutes doing a tour of the house with a two-week-old baby who was very unimpressed at the lack of milk in every room, and not afraid to let me know it!

In the late afternoon it began to look like some people were expecting to stay for dinner. I was very tired and a constant stream of mothers using my quiet bedroom to breastfeed meant no nap for me, but at least we had enough leftovers that I didn't have to worry about cooking. I just threw together a salad to go with the leftover BBQ meat. I love having everyone here but four meals over two days is a lot to cater for a big group of people, and I've barely had a chance to look at my Christmas presents yet. I've had a good couple of days, but I'm rather glad everyone has gone and I can soak my tired legs in the bath and go to bed.

Merry Christmas

Sunday:

As usual, I had a lovely time over Christmas but I'm exhausted and kind of glad it's over!

The presents were ready under the tree the night before, with cake for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.

In the morning we opened our presents and had breakfast then it was time to get on with cooking the turkey. Family arrived with their lunch contributions and we all sat down around 12:30 I think. A few of people had lunch with the other side of their family, we were 12 in number and all fit comfortably around our new table.

More present opening, then we kicked everyone out so we could go to my grandfather's for dinner, about an hour drive away. It was strange and sad without my mum or aunty Bev with us this year, and I had a nasty jolt when I saw my mum's car parked there but of course my brother drives it now. But it was nice to see the rest of my family, who I generally only see at Christmas and weddings and funerals. We will see them a bit more often now we live in the same city.

Poppa (grandad) has lived out in the country for the past 30 years, but in the last two years Sydney has expanded and enveloped him. The roads used to be rutted with no curb and houses far apart. Now there are footpaths and houses lined up side by side, Poppa's shabby little house has a high fence around with tall houses peeking over instead of looking out on open countryside. Really strange.

After dinner we walked a couple of (very new) blocks to where my cousin has bought a block of land. So far he has a rather attractive fence which he spent four months building himself, and nothing else! He backs onto a nature reserve with a creek so he will still have a bit of the country feel.

Then home again, and to bed.

The next morning more cleaning and cooking. I was expecting 17 for lunch, and when Tim's aunt arrived she mentioned that she had invited some more relatives we rarely see, so it was going to be 21! We had the leftovers from Christmas plus Tim did his magic with the BBQ and I cooked some fish for those on Lent. The guests spilled outside into the courtyard and down to the games table, but we fit them all in somehow.

After lunch we left the toddlers with a few adults and the rest of us went to see the new Star Wars movie, which we all enjoyed very much. "The force" had given us all Star Wars related clothing for Christmas, so Jasmine and I wore appropriate T-shirts but were outshone by the boys. Aiden was the new character Kylo Ren and Tim was Darth Vader - in full costume! That was fun. I was in too much of a rush to take a photo, but other people did so I'll get one from somewhere. Back home, found a few people were staying on to dinner. Of course they said they could just eat leftovers or toast, don't go to any trouble, but we'd eaten most of the leftovers already and that would be a lot of toast! I cooked roast lamb. Finally everyone left around 9:30 and I had a nice soak in the bath before collapsing into bed.

So, all in all, had a great time, but very tiring.

I don't really eat a lot at family gatherings, too busy and happy. I am a secret comfort eater, my binges are alone in front of the TV. At dinner I see other people's plates piled high with everything offered, I have a much smaller amount of my favourites with lots of free space on the plate. I do have dessert, but even then don't overeat. I wish I could be like that all the time.

I'm not waiting until Jan 1, but I am giving myself today to eat some of the leftover desserts and chocolates I was given as presents. Then I'm clearing out the fridge. 2016 is going to be my year to achieve some goals!

Wrapping up Christmas

Friday:

I got on the scales this morning with a certain amount of apprehension, but I had been right about not putting on weight. Despite holiday fare and no formal exercise, I am back down to 77.8kg, 700 grams less than six days ago. I was on my feet a lot and ate less than usual because I was so busy and tired.

Christmas Night I was again too exhausted to sleep well. The bomb going off every couple of minutes in the lounge room didn't help, and neither did waking early and thinking about what I needed to do for the day. I think I got about five hours, which isn't terrible but was the third night in a row of poor sleep, leaving me with a pretty big sleep debt.

Ten of us went to see The Hobbit, which was great. Tim's family are all fantasy nerds like us and there was some talk of dressing up but in the end it was just Tim's cloak and Matthew's Darth Vader hoodie. We left the children at home with my pregnant sister-in-law who said she would be too uncomfortable sitting so long (it was a three hour movie).

When we got home we had our traditional Boxing Day BBQ (very late, the movie finished at 2.30). I sent Tim out with the meat and quickly threw together the spicy vegetable skewers and fried some fish for those who weren't eating red meat. Since I'd used up my salad ingredients the night before, the skewers were all the vegetable I had and I don't think there was even enough for one each, I certainly didn't have one. We also went through a loaf of bread, I totally forgot about the garlic bread I had in the freezer. I made ice cream sundaes for dessert. A couple of hours later I just put out all the many and various left-overs for a light dinner, and made a simple pasta to go with it. No one was really hungry yet, but we had to feed the kids and get them to bed.

More games and fun, but the night did end on a slightly sour note with an acrimonious conversation about a disputed inheritance issue between a couple of the older members of the family. Tim broke it up after a while and we all went to bed, here or at motels. Tim and I lay awake for a while and talked about the inheritance thing and then about the movie to get our minds off the inheritance dispute. I finally got a good night's sleep.

Yesterday was the final day of visitors and I was so ready for them all to go home! Our houseguests helped us put all of the furniture back in its usual place and do a final clean-up (people had been helping all along, so while I did nearly all the cooking I did no washing up at all, just a bit of fussing around) then they went, and the rest of the family dropped in throughout the day after checking out of their motels. I heard the final pair arrive just as I was lying down for an after-lunch (leftovers) nap and I couldn't drag myself up to go and talk to them. I slept for half an hour before going out to say goodbye. And the Christmas celebration was finally over.

Despite another good night's sleep last night I am still feeling totally wiped out. I think it's going to take me a couple of days to recover. But it was an excellent Christmas, and well worth the work.

photo of boxes by scotproof