I like Christmas.
I tend to define Christmas with the traditionals, I love wandering around buying presents, choosing things for people, spending money. I adore suprises, opening presents to see what people have got me, watching them open presents that I got for them. I love – more and more – the differences between families Christmas’. Do you open the presents first thing in the morning? Christmas Eve? after your Christmas meal? When is it? Lunch or Dinner? Do you have any special things about the Christmas breakfast? Then there are the more usual shared traditions, like stiring the Christmas pudding or cake and making a wish, like the walnut in the stocking (ours was always a tangerine).
This was my first christmas away from family, I spent it with ccooke and LoneCat, and part of the fun bit was navigating our way through each of our family traditions to create our own ones, which was nice 🙂
So yesterday, then, we arose late, I did a full cooked breakfast, we opened presents. I got a game and a large wooden snail from ccooke with the legend “We owe you one Sony Clié, The Snails” in beautiful caligraphy, for which I thank Supermouse, a towel and a book from LoneCat, and an inflateable radio from Peter & Julie. Oh, and an illustrated encyclopædia from LoneCat’s parents. Tomorrow I go home to see parents for the first time in six months, and also exchange gifts with them, which will be nice.
Then ccooke ccooked a large full Christmas dinner, which was wonderful, while I coded comments into Epistula. Then we ate, and LoneCat prepared and brought her christmas pudding out, which set light to, as tradition demanded. Then I had mine with Cream, LC had brandy butter, and ccooke had rum sauce, because three people liking the same thing is rare…
Then we did variations on nothing for a while. Christmas day over for another year…