Here's a brief rundown of the Christmas events we did this year:
Santa's Grotto at Chessington Garden Centre (not Chessington World of Adventure as I thought!). It was quite a palova.....one the walk there, Lauren fell as ripped open the knee of her jeans and then we were late because the garden centre is about 10 minute further walk from World of Adventures. The grotto was pretty cool, you walk through all different areas and then you end at Santa. Santa knew their names! Lauren asked for a sewing machine, Alison a magic set, and Drew Cars 3. They each received a gift as well.
We got about 1.5 cm of icy snow and the kids got out all their snow gear and played (ate) the snow....
The kids had Christmas jumper day.
Brad and I did some shopping together on Oxford Street, which was MANIC but nice to shop together rather than me doing most of the shopping myself or with my best friend, Amazon Prime! We had a fab Thai dinner at Rosa's on Carnaby Street.
Brad, Lauren and I did a Harry Potter walking tour around London, which was very interesting. Our tour guide was great, her name was Ellie and she knew a lot about Harry Potter and about London landmarks in general. I saw Downing Street for the first time and learned that the Prime Minister first was elected in 1732. We had dinner at Honest Burger and then walked around in Covent Garden where we saw some amazing musicians playing Christmas carols.
Drew had his Christmas play at school. It was cute; Drew was a narrator and he had lots of lines that he memorized. They sang several songs as well. The school had a carol concert on the last day of school as well (I was lucky enough to be invited as a member of the PTA!). It was well done; they told the entire Christmas story, and each class sang a song to go along with the story. Drew's class sang "Little Donkey," Alison's class sang "Away in the Manger," and Lauren's class "While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night." (You can guess where in the story they sang!) At the end, all the teachers sang "Do they know it's Christmas," which was a surprise to all the children! It was a great way to end the school term, reflecting on the real meaning of Christmas. I am so thankful that in this country they are able to celebrate the first Christmas!
The final thing before Christmas weekend was Brad and I went to see the Messiah at Royal Albert Hall. It was AMAZING!!! I was having great memories of being there with my mom one year ago to the day. It was Brad's first visit to Royal Albert Hall, and it was cool because our friend Jane's cousin was singing in the choir!
Friday before Christmas, Brad's company had their big family Christmas celebration! They had a huge bouncy castle, ball pit, emoji balloons and all sorts of sweets. Then, there was a pantomime followed by lunch and a visit from Santa, who was very generous: Lauren received a £15 Claire's gift card, Alison received a Jenga vibrate game, and Drew received a remote control robot. I always enjoy seeing Brad's office and his colleagues. Then, in the evening, we went ice skating at Hampton Court Palace, which was beautiful all lit up at night! The kids all did great ice skating, the girls were able to go on their own by the end of the 45 minute time slot; Drew was doing well with the penguin. We had a nice dinner at Pizza Express afterwards.
Since Christmas Eve eve was a Saturday, we decided to have a few friends over, which was a great way to start the true Christmas celebrations. The girls wrapped gifts for each child who came over, as well as a pass the parcel which had about 20 layers (needless to say, I am almost out of Christmas wrapping paper!) Brad made some yummy sliders, and I made buffalo chicken dip, 9 layer taco dip and chocolate chip cake to share some American faves with our friends. (And I forgot to take any pictures....)
Christmas Eve was a low-key day, (Alison and I did make some gluten free egg free sugar cookies) which ended with a church service. To me, Christmas eve means the candlelight service at church ending with candles and Silent Night. This year was close, but not quite what I had envisioned. We went to that All Saints Church not too far from home, and we did sing "Silent Night", however, the words were completely different. I had no idea there was a different version of Silent Night. We also sang "Once in Royal David's City," "Away in a Manger"(different tune), "The Christingle Song," and ended with "O Come all Ye Faithful." The most unique part of the service however, was the Christingle. Apparently a British tradition, it is an orange, wrapped in a red ribbon, with a candle and 4 toothpicks sticking out of the orange.
The orange represents the world, the red ribbon represents the blood of Christ, the toothpicks represent the 4 seasons and the candle represents Christ as the light of the world. Each child received a Christingle, and all the candles were lit, and then the congregation circled around the church and sang a song. It was all very interesting. My friend Gwen said they when she was in school, they used to make them at school. I am always learning something new in this country. We came home and had dinner and then got ready for bed. The kids left cookies, mince pies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer!Christmas was a good day!
We did all venture out on boxing day. The kids spent a bit of their Christmas money and Brad and I did a couple of exchanges and then we went to see the Ferdinand movie. It was ok; a bit slow at the beginning. And I can't believe that none of the kids have read the book! It was a classic when I was little. And Brad and I finished the Harry Potter puzzle!
I am so thankful to celebrate in some many ways with friends and as our family of 5. We did miss seeing our extended family, but we celebrate God sending his son to us!
