It is the best time of the year!

December is the best time of the year, isn't it?

It is the time when we are awaiting for this magical time: Christmas!

There is the xmas carols and mulled wine, there is the xmas nativities and plays, the pantomime -this year we went to see "Puss in Boots" in Hackney theatre- the xmas shopping, the xmas parties, especially the girls xmas dinner that I organise every year with some of my French girlfriends from our beloved school. This year was good fun as usual, and it is funny as there is always one of us not able to drink as she is pregnant. This year was no exception, I was the one not drinking :-)))

December is about celebrations, so we get a nice tree, we decorate it the 4 of us, we watch lots of movies-this year for the first time Rod showed Star Wars, episodes 4,5,6 to the kids. He wanted to share this part of his childhood with them, and as you can imagine, we are totally into it, now! We also play lots of games together, read lots of Christmas stories, pray a lot for our friends and families, share a lot of food and drinks.

And finally, there is this very special night: Christmas eve and night. We get ready to go to mass, we get ready to welcome baby Jesus into our hearts, we sing xmas carols, we get home and have a nice Capon (you can only find it in Selfridges in London, so you can imagine how expensive it is, a big big treat!) with chestnuts and French beans and truffle mashed potatoes. We eat lots of chocolate, share stories and put the kids to bed with this twinkle in their eye. How priceless! I wish I could freeze the time or cement these wonderful memories into my head forever so that they will draw a smile on my face when I am an old grumpy lady...

On Christmas day, like any other day in the year, the kids wake us up, but with a loud scream of joy and happiness and a big smile! Father Christmas came to visit us! He ate the chocolate brownies and the glass of milk, he even wrote us a note saying that we have all been so good all year that we deserve our gifts:-)! And we have been truly really spoiled this Christmas! All of us! But as nice as these gifts are, we knew no matter what we already had the best gift life can give you:LOVE. And there is lots of love in our family, and even more since we were blessed with this newcomer into our family. The kids are waiting for the arrival of this tiny person into our lives as much as they were waiting for baby Jesus' birthday!

I think that really makes this season really special and magical for us this year...