Alder's Tone

When we arranged Christmas Junior was still in a crib in our room, so the spare room was our bolt hole. Not wanting to lose this we came up with a plan. And that was for grandparents to stay in a local hotel, rather than have one set in the spare room and the other on my office floor. Then there was the other condition, so as to not have Junior knocked way out of routine with having constant attention, the invasion would be Christmas Eve and the liberation on Boxing Day. One idea mine, other other belonging to MOTS.

With everyone assembled by lunchtime on Christmas Eve, and that includes the Gents who called in on the way home, lunch was a bit pot of soup with rolls fresh from the oven. And we were relegated to the kitchen so all our guests could sit in the dining room. It felt like being 6 all over again.

Christmas Eve didn't have the sparkle that I'm looking forward to, that is the putting Junior to bed, keeping an ear out for excited little children, leaving munchies for Santa and the reindeer. That will start next year, so while I don't want to wish time away it is something I'm wanting sooner rather than later.

We came, we
deliveredChristmas Day was really nice with the full house, and of everybody there I guess I had the best time - "If it's for the little 'un then the big 'un's opening it". After a suitable breakfast (second breakfast for some) the unwrapping started. There was almost a break to let Grandad get his nicotine fix, but we managed to complete the pile of empty paper in a mere hour and a half. Not bad going I thought, especially as he's really taken with that pile of paper!

Just before lunch I pointed out that the grandson hadn't got the grandparents anything. "I never noticed" was the resounding cry. Oh well, not to worry, we'll keep these then... Hardly. I do hope the grandparents were made up with the present hand made by their grandson (and foot made too). A hand and foot print from 10 weeks old, Mummy & Daddy got one too but couldn't hang it at the foot of the stairs until after Christmas, for obvious reasons. I love them, and it has a discreet home, yet in a high traffic position. Thus it can go unnoticed yet looked at very frequently. I would guess that the other two will also get a good spot.

There was a nice few hours from Junior in the evening, enough time for Grandad to have his fag breaks, Granny to catch up with the soaps, and Grandma to walk all over everyone at Monopoly. With Grandpops being the last man standing Mummy & Daddy didn't get a look-in. Not even with it being the "Here & Now" edition, which we thought may be too high tech for the wrinklies, but alas no.

Boxing Day was the big goodbyes, leaving us with a house that looks like a tornado has gone through it. I say looks like rather than "looked like" to ensure correct tense. And I'm here on the 31st still wondering when the SWAT team are coming in to clear the mess up. Just a little something I rattled up on Boxing Day morning was a collage of pictures taken over the last couple of days, so there was something extra to take home. I had pictures to choose from with Junior and everybody, except Daddy. Daddy was the only person not to have his picture taken with the boy on the day. It really doesn't bother me as I had a massive amount of time with him cuddled into me asleep, which made my Christmas.

Christmas started around 8 weeks early with getting the prints done. And now it's all over for another year. But if next year is half as good as this year, I'll be a happy Daddy.

Finally, many thanks to the grandparents for being there to share in Junior's first Christmas, it would not have been anything as special without them.