Purdy helps with the wrapping

Purdy helping on Xmas eve.

Christmas Day

We had a lovely day, starting at the crack of dawn as the kids discovered their stockings and the massive stack of presents under the tree. Andrew cooked waffles for breakfast, then we bent to popular demand and opened more presents after which I pottered in the kitchen cooking roast turkey while the kids - and Andrew - played with their new toys. After lunch and feeling a bit sleepy, we went to visit friends for an afternoon of swimming and socialising. Exhausted after the excitement of the day and still with gifts left unopened, we all literally fell into bed. Boxing Day was slightly less busy, opening our last few pressies in the morning and having some friends over in the afternoon for drinks and cold meat and salads. A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. We hope the friends and family we were missing all had such a happy Christmas as ours.

The Nutcracker Ballet

I decided a Christmas treat for Amelia and I would be to see the ballet. We took some friends along too. We started with storytelling in the foyer to ensure the children understood what was going on, before heading up to the balcony   The Nutcracker was a great introduction timo ballet and though the girls got a little fidgety towards the end, they did very well and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Christmas Parade & Light Show

Last week we all went to see the Christmas parade, pantomime and light show in the city. The Queen Street Mall was packed with people as the twelve days of Christmas parade wound its way towards us at King George Square. Real camels, a donkey and reindeer were all included, followed by the very funny pantomime where baddies were trying to stop Christmas - everyone say 'Boo!'  The kids loved it. After that, City Hall was lit up like a......well, not a Christmas tree but a projected light show movie to music. It was a lovely evening and a very late night for little people.

William wins

William and his tennis partner James were over the moon to be the winners of the fourth division club tennis championship yesterday. In a tense final which went right down to the wire, they just pulled through despite losing 5-2 to their opponents, having banked enough points from previous games. William proudly showed off his trophy and was also awarded a new graphite racket for outstanding effort this year.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree.....

After much excitement, the Christmas tree is up, sporting new twinkling lights.