Christmas at my house is choc-full of fun, food and festivities. The main instigator of preparations, which begin in early December, is my daughter, child number three, a December girl who waits a whole year to celebrate both her birthday and Christmas. My Sagittarius is a whirlwind, the one in the family with the loudest voice, sparkling eyes and the biggest heart; you know when she enters a room without looking, her presence is so strong. For the past month, I have been “organised” by my daughter to go shopping for the ingredients we need to prepare a Christmas feast … and more!

A few days before Christmas, my five grand-babies came to my house for the annual Kid’s Cooking Day. Not a lot of actual cooking is done, it is pre-prepared for the little ones to have some fun. Chocolate Crackles require no baking, they are set in the fridge after the children help Aunt Em count out the cups and spoons full of ingredients, mix, and place them into patty pans. Emma and I baked cookies for them to decorate a few days before, and I also had a Christmas craft kit for the children to make decorations with.

This year, I made matching aprons for the children to wear while cooking, which Master Seven and his little brother, Master Two, modelled for me to take a photo.

I have lost count of the number of years Emma has baked and decorated a gingerbread house for Christmas. She gave up on perfection after her nephew, Master Seven, first decided he wanted to help with the decorating. As more children have come along, Emma has been happy to sacrifice her ideals of perfection for the little ones.

By the time the big day arrived, I was exhausted. This year, we had twenty guests here on Christmas Day consisting of my four grown-up “children”, their spouses, my five grandchildren, my ninety-year-old mother-in-law, my son-in-law’s sister and her daughter, and my daughter-in-law’s parents. It was a relief to finally relax, sit around the pool, and enjoy the garden where I spend so much of my time working!

As soon as the deck chairs were empty though, this cheeky pair grabbed them!

Being a hot day, this year we spent most of the day outdoors. The children loved playing in the pool and had fun setting up a picnic area on the grass, in the shade, where they ate their Christmas dinner.

The three older generations enjoyed our Christmas meal at the table!

December has been quite a busy month. It’s fun, but I have to admit that I am pleased there is only one Christmas in a year. The preparations are worth the effort though when I see my family together, relaxing, enjoying the day … and acting like total clowns!

And everyone celebrating, having fun, making memories, and feeling comfortable in the home my four children grew up in. 🙂