Christmas in Priory Farm

Another wonderful Christmas at Priory Farm.  Daisy, Bob, Finn, Ash and Toby (aka DBFAT) were there for the first 4 days but went back to Wales on the 22nd.  Adelaide, Rob, Josy and Peggy arrived a day after us but stayed throughout.  Dad (Papou) was also invited for a few days either side of Christmas.

Lots of playing with the cousins, football for Oscar and Ash, trampolining, tennis, table tennis...  Finn sitting in a corner with a book, emerging occasionally (often to fight with Ash).  Kids running around, making brief appearances for meals but asking to be excused from table within minutes of sitting down, having a whale of a time.  Little kids - Leo and Peggy - mostly hanging out with the grown-ups in the kitchen, making puzzles or playing with the farm animals.  Peggy's favourite place was snuggled up with Audrey on her mat on the kitchen floor, sucking her thumb, with the other hand in Audrey's top.

We did all the usual Christmas stuff we do every year at Priory Farm:  the crib service on the Sunday - this year the children did us proud;  Oscar did a reading and Leo enthusiastically placed a camel and a king in the nativity scene (a distinct improvement over last year when he adamantly refused to give up his animals and spent most of the service bashing them together to make music);  the Chipping Norton pantomime on the Monday, Robin Hood this year;  the decorating of the tree;  the decorating of the house with holly (not my favourite).

Then of course there was the Christmas extravaganza itself:  new pyjamas and letters up the chimney on Christmas Eve, listening out for the bells on Santa's sleigh, midnight mass at the Catholic Church in Wroxton for Mikie and Fred, and this year my dad, insanely heavy stockings in the morning (this year, for my father's sake I think, we varied from the usual tradition of opening stockings in Mikie and Laura's room and opened them instead in the sitting room), church after breakfast, presents after church, Christmas lunch (of the turkey, spuds, Brussels sprouts and cabbage variety), more presents after lunch, 'round-the-world tennis, presents again, smoked salmon for dinner (this year Taka ate three platefuls off the table while we were having pre-dinner drinks in the sitting room), final grown-up presents before bed... Entirely hectic but lots of fun.

A month of shopping (25 presents excluding stockings and presents for teachers, coaches etc.), two weeks of wrapping, a week of Christmas cards, God knows how much time - and money! - spent on food and drink, putting decorations up, taking decorations down, half a dozen thank you 

notes...all for the sake of one day of exhausting present-opening extravaganza.  Collective insanity.  I'm right there with the rest of them.