And so this is Christmas

I woke up unintentionally early at 6:45am on Christmas morning - must have been excited!  I tried to lay in bed quietly for a little while, but I'm not very good at this patience thing.  After a while Liam became aware of my fidgeting and fussing and woke up not too long after.  By the time we got out of bed and emerged for the day, my Aunt had arrived and her and mum were already getting down to business in the kitchen. 

Mum had set the table with candles, and a cute little Christmas napkin for each place setting.  My Uncle, who has worked in restaurants for years, decided to take each napkin and fold them so that they fanned out across the plate.  I busied myself chilling all the bottles of champagne, and mixing cocktails in the cute little drinks dispenser which Liam had bought me earlier in the week.  Turns out most of my cousins were driving, and the one who wasn't had a little announcement to make upon arrival, which meant she couldn't drink.  How exciting!!

So then, it was time to EAT!!!!

My mother is never one to under-cater. Instead, we end up with mountains of food leftover after any event.  I'm not complaining though! Whatever she makes is always delish, and I can be sure that I will be craving for more!

The food... oh, the food! We had turkey, ham (of course, must-haves for Christmas!), rosemary lamb, tender roast pork, a green salad with mangoes & nectarines tossed through, tangy tomato chutney, asparagus & snowpea salad with artichoke hearts and a balsamic glaze, roasted vegetable & couscous salad,  crunchy coleslaw, creamy potato salad with lots of crispy bacon bits, and last but not least, crusty bread rolls slathered liberally with butter.

The whole time we were eating, Mitzi planted herself firmly by my feet, willing me to share tasty morsels with her.  Let's just say she enjoyed Christmas lunch too - I can't say no to those puppy dog eyes!

Really - could you resist?

Now, if we weren't full after lunch (believe me, I was!) there was a vast range of desserts to choose from to end the meal with.

Mum's homemade boozy fruitcake, a log of mango pudding, plum pudding with brandy custard, hummingbird cake slathered in passionfruit frosting, black forest cake, an assorted fruit platter, and bowls full of cherries & strawberries perhaps for the more health-conscious!

I could not eat another bite. Lucky for me, meal time was over which meant there were PRESENTS to be opened!

My little cousin, Adeline, wasted no time in ripping into them! She also took it upon herself to "help" open her baby brother's gifts also. He didn't seem too fussed though! He was quite happy helping Liam put his Christmas gifts to good use.

Here he shows us how to play the Atari! He's such a happy smiley baby. <3

Adeline on the other hand is an absolute live wire! She never seems to run out of steam and is just go go go all the time! She discovered my brother's drum set and decided she'd give it a crack, true rock star style!

I do adore Christmas.

This just about sums it up for me, it's what Christmas is all about.  Enjoying good food and sharing with the people that you love.  Spending time with your family and friends, enjoying a laugh, a little bit of extravagance, a lot of giving and a whole lot of loving.

I can't wait to do it all again next year!