Christmas with the Wellingtons

Christmas went just as quickly as it came this year. I still have an entire jar of home-made candy cane vodka in the kitchen and suddenly it seems as though the moment has already passed for festive flavoured drinks. (Don't worry I will not let it go to waste.)

The week before Christmas was somewhat stressful. I was determined to fit in as many festive-themed activities as I possibly could in an attempt to pin down the Christmas spirit, but it did not go to plan.
Our DVD player broke, sending me into a spiral of despair. What is Christmas without an evening spent forcing my parents to sit through The Muppets' Christmas Carol? Then there was a dramatic episode surrounding our outdoor Christmas tree. My mother simply couldn't find one that lived up to her expectations, meaning the outside of our house was bare until December 23rd, when she finally found some foliage that was in-keeping with her vision. (It ended up being reduced to £1 because all the normal people has already bought their Christmas trees weeks ago so I guess that's a kind of bonus.) I'm prone to high stress levels at the best of times so it isn't surprising that I found myself on the verge of a Yuletide panic attack after attempting to construct a gingerbread house.

But, despite the fact that it seemed to come at me from nowhere with absolutely no warning this year, I had a fabulous Christmas. I woke up at 7am (probably a new record for me) after a night of tossing and turning and sat in bed, waiting for the clock to strike 8am so it would be an acceptable time for me to burst into my parents' room and wake them up by shouting "Santa's been!"

I had some fabulous presents, including a sewing machine, more chocolate than most people can manage to eat in a year, and the best dressing gown I have ever laid eyes on. I did a whole video about the quirky gifts I got so if you're as nosey as I tend to be, you should definitely take a look at it.

This year we went to my brother's house for Christmas dinner. I'd been looking forward to it all year because he makes some seriously amazing pigs in blankets. 

Spending Christmas with children is amazing. For one, children make Christmas, what with their hyper-active glee, their unwavering belief in the magic of this time of year and that moment at the end of the day when they sit down on your lap, tired out and totally contented. And then there are the toys!

Ellis had all kinds of video game type stuff that I won't even pretend I understand. He's obsessed with Minecraft and Stampy (who, I've concluded, is a Youtuber with the face of a cat) so most of his gifts were to do with creepers and Minecraft pigs and whatever the heck else it is that goes on in that game. Lauren's presents were much more interesting. She got Kayla, a doll who connects to the internet so you can have a full-on conversation with her, Disney princess play-sets and an array of Monster High dolls.

                                                                 

Side note: I'm a Barbie girl through and through, but the Monster High toys were the best quality dolls I've seen in a long time. The plastic wasn't the super cheap kind most toys these days are made of and they are beautiful to look at. Seriously, I wish I looked that good!

Christmas dinner was fabulous! I gorged myself on pigs in blankets and ate more than I thought humanly possible. Oh the stuffing balls! I wish I could relive that dinner. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Then, as the afternoon wore on, we settled in to glaze over on the sofa, argue over which CD to put on and discuss the problems in the Middle East (casual). We tried our hardest to get Lauren to stand up and sing us a Christmas carol, but she refused to perform for anything less than £65, which seemed a bit steep considering we couldn't get her to stop singing just the day before.

I'm sad it's over, but, if 2014 was anything to go by, it will be Christmas again before I have a chance to so much as prepare myself for Spring. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well with lots of lovely memories and excessive amounts of pigs in blankets! 

Happy New Year!