Christmas cheer
The day started with the boys impatiently waiting for me to wake up. Both had barely slept during the night and had been waiting for hours for the day to begin. The Scientist already wakes pretty early so I was the lone sleeper for several hours. I finally dragged myself out of bed and the boys opened their gifts. I think both were quite satisfied with their gifts, even the couple of items that hadn’t been on their lists. Lego Lover doesn’t seem to mind alternative gifts too much but Game Fanatic isn’t too keen on surprises. Both also seem to like the now traditional pair of boring underwear that appears in their stockings each year as a bit of a joke.
The Scientist and I had the traditional Christmas breakfast to attend so we left the boys and made our way there. We didn’t stay particularly long at the breakfast, just long enough to eat a bit and chatter with people we rarely see. It’s much nicer now that Game Fanatic is older and we can leave the boys at home. They hated going and it was a stressful experience for all when they were there. Still we don’t like to be away for too long on Christmas.
The remainder of the morning and early afternoon were spent relaxing for the most part. I was still quite tired so got in a short nap just before noon. It was that sort of tiredness that would have really dragged me down and the sleep was just enough to keep me alert the rest of the day. In the afternoon I started baking the chickpea patties and, with the Scientist, did some last minute preparations before our visitors were due at around 6-ish.
The Scientist’s older brother and family arrived pretty soon after 6pm and the kids opened their presents soon afterwards while the adults chattered. His mum and other brother arrived a while later and the present opening continued. I believe all were quite happy with their gifts. Lego Lover did quite well through all, especially considering he’d had only four or five hours of sleep.
We then moved outside for dinner. The Scientist had cut two of the small pre-cooked hams and the turkey beforehand. In hindsight, it would have been better to just slice one of the hams because it didn’t go over that well. It was far too salty in the end. My MIL also brought a turkey, not realising we’d gotten one so there was more than enough to go around. She’d also brought several packets of rice and curry called lamprai, which is a Sri Lankan burgher specialty. There were also a few salads along with the chickpea patties. I made the mistake of making a small number of the patties without the chillies I used in the rest, just in the event some of the chilli sensitive family would try one. I forgot to specify this and my MIL ended up eating from that plate and none of the chilli-sensitive family gave it a second glance.
For dessert we had gingerbread cookies that had been made by the Scientist and Lego Lover on Christmas eve. These seemed to be a big hit, especially with our dairy and soy allergic niece. We also had a cake for my brother-in-law’s birthday which is on Christmas. I think that went over quite well. Darkness soon began to fall and the colorful solar lights on the arch and one of the trees came on, along with some regular solar lights that are spread out through the backyard. The Scientist brought out the telescope and did a mini-viewing, which proved rather popular with the cousins. Lego Lover had by this time run out of steam and was mostly staying in the background. He didn’t eat any of the food aside from several banana muffins I’d made to use up some ripe bananas and the cake.
By 8:30, everyone had gone and we were left to relax for the remainder of the night.
