Unusually, I took very few pictures of our Christmas celebrations, but I'm still documenting here what we got up to because...well, just because.
Christmas Day fell into place as it always does, starting with surprise filled stockings followed by piles of presents (''Ooh'', exclaimed littlest, as he helped his daddy unwrap a gift of a leather belt, ''tights!''), delicious food on a festive table, far too many bottles of bubbly, crackers (the pulling of which sent the dog into a doormat scratching frenzy), Scrabble (turns out I'm a very poor loser) and Downton Cluedo (it was Lady Mary, in the boudoir with the candlestick and, no, I wasn't even close, dammit).
In the days since, we've waved goodbye to littlest and his parents, called out the emergency plumber, been to the cinema to see Mary Poppins Returns (excellent, by the way), walked by the river, chased a high on catnip cat around the house, done laundry, eaten dinner cooked by someone else, decimated the mince pie and chocolate piles, read, restocked the fridge.
It's been good. Very good.
Now, in these last few in-between days, there's a new bed to order, a replacement for the one that collapsed underneath the sleeping visitors in the early hours of Christmas Eve.