Christmas assembling

Date: 9:26am, 27 Dec 2011

So all the festivities are over for another year. “Such a big fuss for one day,” says my partner, who is rapidly turning into Mr Grumpy Old Man. The kids had a blast though. On Christmas Eve daughters two and three actually volunteered to go to bed early, something that never ever occurs on a normal day. They wanted to impress Santa and daughter two is half terrified of him. So terrified that she could not move from the bed all night even though she needed the toilet and ended up wetting the bed rather than bumping into Mr Claus in mid-present dropping mode.

Daughter two had, of course planned ahead and created a Christmas book for Santa and put it in the fireplace with a note, asking him to reciprocate with a book of his choice. Daughter one no longer believes and keeps winking at me every time Santa’s name comes up. The baby knew something was up, but it was not sufficiently exciting to dull his teething pains. He woke up all through the night, up until, ooh, an hour before daughter two’s light went on. This was swiftly followed by daughter three entering the room and announcing that her bed was too cold.

In the end the stockings were all opened on our bed. The baby was most impressed, nay he gasped with joy, to receive some Haribos of his very own.

We were then forced to open Mummy and Daddy’s presents pretty soon after. Indeed most presents were opened before 10. There then began the long and arduous task of trying to assemble the presents. Looking at a set of instructions for a baby kitchen unit when you have not had proper sleep for 12 years is not advisable. They said something along the lines of ‘this should just click into place. When you hear the click continue to point 4’. There was no click. Indeed the parts did not actually fit into each other. I must remember next year not to buy any toy that a) requires assembling or b) has a manual of helpful instructions. I think I tell myself that each year, but wipe it from my mind in the two months leading up to Christmas, just as I appear to have totally eradicated any memory of the exhausting nature of the toddler years of my previous three children. I need Kendall mint cake to get me through.

The rest of the day passed in relative calm at my mum’s with the traditional turkey meal and a beautiful lot of decorations. The children made muttered comments about my cooking, comparing it with my partner’s abilities. I feel this is a tad unfair since he spends his entire life studying Masterchef [oh, to have the time to study Masterchef…]. I pride myself that my culinary skill is speed. My worst culinary attribute, however, has to be lack of sustained focus. This has resulted in daughter three now requesting burnt cheese on toast, which she considers an absolute delicacy. Onwards to new year.

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Related tags: Christmas | Cooking | Toys