Christmas shenanigans

This was the first year that I had the week off in the lead up to Christmas and it was fantastic. The kids and I hung out together and I was able to do things like make my stuffing and bread sauce well in advance of christmas day, all the presents were bought and wrapped by the 22nd and the food was all in the house by the 23rd leaving the 24th for lots of fun with the family. Ali and Jess arrived from Perth on Wednesday which was also Jess' birthday so the kids and I decorated the house with banners and balloons and made and decorated a big chocolate cake for which Tess made the icing all by herself! Jess' boyfriend, Dan, is a policeman and he gave the kids 3 real-life WA policeman hats which they were thrilled with!

On Thursday Jules had a crew day on St Jude getting the boat prepared for the Sydney to Hobart so the rest of us headed down to Manly for a coffee in a beachside cafe whilst the kids played in the sea. We then moved to a different cafe for lunch which was all very civilised. On Christmas Eve Ali suggested we go to CYC to see St Jude in the flesh - she works in a yacht club and felt she would never be forgiven if she hadn't gone to look at all the Sydney-Hobart boats. Robert and Claire came with us and everyone agreed that although St Jude felt spacious with just 4 adults and 2 kids downstairs it wouldn't be quite the same with 12 grown men.

For Christmas Eve dinner the Reids joined us as did a couple of Claire's friends who are currently backpacking. I faced my fears and cooked a whole salmon - something I've been meaning to do but have never had the courage - and it was delicious even if I say so myself. There was a slight panic at dessert time when I realised I hadn't bought anywhere near enough cheese for Robert and his ability to consume vast amounts! Fortunately we started a competitive game of "hunt the thimble", a christmas eve tradition for us and the Reids, which took Robert's mind off the cheese and lasted until it was going home time.

Christmas Day dawned as a typically beautiful Sydney summer morning which we have not experienced in over 5 years. The kids woke at a reasonable 6.20 and after some breakfast and 3 presents each for the kids we headed down to the beach for our customary Christmas swim and my annual dip in the sea! Tess was very happy to receive a surf board like Tom's until she got dumped by a huge wave and ended up crying. Ali faced her fears and made it down onto the beach on her crutches. She sat in the sand for a while and then bum shuffled down to the waters edge where she sat letting the waves roll over her. It was all fine until a particularly large wave came and made her do a 360 in the sand!! We spent longer at the beach than planned due to the beautiful weather and had a bit of a rush when we got home to open all our presents before the arrival of the Jamos. I completely forgot about timings so turks didn't go in the bbq until about 1pm which meant there was no chance of food until 4.30 at the earliest but it didn't matter with the kids choosing to swim in the pool and then some heated rounds of SingStar with Jess and Claire taking centre stage!

Our turkey was a triumph - juicy and moist - but Robert said he expected my roast potatoes to be crispier - he may not be getting an invite next year!!! Jules turned in early to get as much beauty sleep as possible prior to the race but the rest of us played cranium and chatted until about 10.30. A brilliant day everyone - thank you!!!