'Twas sort of the night before Christmas

It is Christmas Eve at our house tonight. All the kids have come back home to roost in preparation for our own little family gathering tomorrow. It's been kind of handy having a whole weekend just before the real Christmas Day, allowing us time and space to have a relaxing catch-up, rather than trying to fit family visits into just one day.

All my lovely regal Christmas bags are now hanging in the living room ready for the morning. Santa has been visiting all day, putting little gifty things in, and so now we all just have to wait.

My pantry is well-stocked, and the Christmas cake, groaning with beautiful dried fruits and nuts is under wraps. The ham is ready for baking on the morrow, and there is more than enough bubbly to go around. But in the end, we are all just so happy to be together for 36 hours or so. There is a shared understanding that we are probably amongst the very blessed and we are grateful for the richness of life.

Merry (almost) Christmas.
Evie xxx