Peaceful Christmas

We have had a happy, traditional Christmas Day at home with the family. The boys all came though to our room with their Christmas stockings to open and again Santa had provided a stocking for James and me too! The presents chosen for me by my lovely family were touching in their thoughtfulness, and of course the best bit was us all being together. Jack enjoyed walking around the middle of the bed amid all the wrapping paper and chatter, and he got a present too (a catnip toy). We put the turkey in the oven at 9 (it would take six hours to cook plus resting time), then we went round to Forrest and Marjory's. James and I collected Grandma by car and the boys walked along, as we drove past them on the way up the road I was so proud that these three young men are ours! Forrest, Marjory and the children made us very welcome and plied us with drinks, Christmas cake and presents. After a pleasantly festive morning we headed home and made Christmas dinner. It all went smoothly and we watched the Queen's speech at 3 p.m. before serving out. We had smoked salmon with blinis and sour cream to start and then we had Grandma's chestnut soup which was absolutely delicious. The Melba toast was not perfect but everyone seemed to like it anyway. The roast turkey turned out very well and was nice and moist after loads of basting. All of the vegetables and sauces made it onto the table at a decent temperature and we ate up enthusiastically, chatting and laughing. All very traditional and familiar, which as I get older I appreciate is a privilege. I hope that I am lucky enough to have more Christmases like this one.