Twas the Night Before Christmas...

I love this time on Christmas Eve. Everything's done, house is peaceful and it's time to snuggle up and have a glass of wine on the sofa...bliss. Speaking of which - here is another bottle worth a mention...

Because Ellie's in the opposite cast from the last 2 years, her final Panto performance of the season was this afternoon instead of tonight which was lovely as she got to be part of our evening too. We went along to see her at the matinee performance with a load of friends and their kids then all went out for dinner to the Italian afterwards - manic, noisy, but a right laugh! Paul stayed home with Molly and James as they both have the pox now...but came down for the meal with Molly while his Dad sat with Jamie-cakes. Poor boy is COVERED in spots and is being driven mad with the itching. We're going through Calamine Cream at an alarming rate! Molly's spots are far less obvious and she's actually better now they're out than she has been all week - she's eating for Scotland all of a sudden which is a relief as she's been off her food completely. Here's James getting lots of cuddles and sympathy yesterday...

The best thing about having Ellie home tonight was that I was able to read them all the story we read every Christmas Eve - Clement C Moore's The Night Before Christmas. We bought the book before Ellie's 1st Christmas and it's been read each year ever since. We love the book and the illustrations and once we've finished, Santa's snacks are put out on a plate and it's bedtime! There hasn't been a peep out of them since they went to bed - Santa's watching!!!

So, have a lovely time - I hope you get all you wish for and spend the day with the ones you love. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! xxx