Christmas, Aaaah!

Christmas, aaah!
A succession of lovely days full of food, lights, friends and family, and then some more food, lights, family and friends, and then some more food, for good measure!

A table laid for a lovely meal

A bigger table laid for a bigger lovely meal

Sit down, everyone! For what is food without company?

Three cheers for the cook!

Festivities start with Tara's grandma's birthday. Candles are fun... but what is that? Presents NOT for Tara? Good job there's nothing interesting in them, and candles can be re-lit and re-blown out, and re-lit...

Pffffft!

Of course, Christmas is also a time for promises kept and wishes made true, so Tara gets given a whole lot of Christmas market ride tokens. Heart shaped, most appropriately. In the day time, she has the whole ride to herself, which is good - she is very jealllous of it and hates sharing the ride...


... except at night, when the market is packed, and she gets to share with Lia. Which also was a promise come true. Made without prior discussion with Lia's lot - we got rather lucky with wishes made come true this holiday...

Wishes come true at Christmas

And then? Time to bring out the tree, which my father traditionally harvests in the garden on Christmas eve, and which Tante Claudia traditionally decorates with the same things that we have been using since we were small... ah, sweet nostalgia!

Bring out the tree! And let Tante Claudia do the artists's job!

Finally it is time to go and wait for Santa (video). Tara, Jose and I withdraw to the first floor, and stick our heads out the window to wait, and call for "Weihnachten" (Christmas), as Tara calls Santa. Tara uses the opportunity to reinforce her wishlist, and calls out into the dark neighbourhood: "...Und ich möchte Schokolade, ein puzzle und ein book!" - "Komm, Weihnachetn! Wir warten! Wo biiist duuuu?" (...and I would like some chocolate, a puzzle, and a book! - Come, 'Christmas'! We're waiting! Where are you?") But as we know, he's difficult to catch, cause he's shy and somewhat scared of all the people that are about...
Meanwhile, downstairs, the rest of the family are busy putting all the presents where they belong. Santa is not only shy but also slightly disoriented, for he's left lots of presents in lots of different heaps all over the house, but none of them right under the tree, and half of them without name tags too. He also forgets to eat the cookie Tara put out for him, but that's ok, sort of, since Tara already ate half of it herself. A chocolate cookie, you see...
And then? Descend Tara from upstairs, all sing a few songs accompanied by Tara (who won't sing) on the whistle, and voila, we open the door to the magical festive living room (video), and a few more presents than Tara had asked for (and can handle). She must have been an extraordinarily good girl this last year!

SO! much more that "chocolate, a book, and a puzzle"

Tara is quite overwhelmed and takes to unwrapping everything that gets in her way. The Bunte Teller (plates full of goodies) have her attention too. She has a bite of every biscuit she can lay her hands on... Is she sampling, or is she blessing them for everyone else's consumption?
She is having a wonderful time, although vast heaps of presents are not exactly good for developing her attention span. And she gets a little hyper too, and too tired to admit it. Do I still remember the rather massive fight between overwhelmed, overtired daughter and over-annoyed mother this leads to? Naaa, already frogotten!
But there is a chance that next year we'll cut down to three presents...

Watching Shrek 1, 2, AND 3 on Christmas Day

And after that, what ist there to say? More lovely time spent eating lovely food, and relaxing with lovely friends and family. Tara bakes her fist batch of cookies with Oma Gisela, plays computer games with Opa Didi, visits Maja and her lovely exciting baby toys, and meets with Lia for more play time. We travel South to meet our quite very new friend Erin (7 weeks, aaaah! gorgeous! I've TOTALLY forgotten how small they come!), and admire fireworks on New Year's Eve.

With cousin Maja

Painting with Lia

And then, back to England with my seasick, partially puking little family. One day for the lovely SALES, and now it is time to pack three lunch boxes. One for Tara, one for Jose, and one for myself - an all singing, all dancing, all working mum from tomorrow on.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-chaaangeeees!
Tara is not too impressed by the prospect... of everyone working but her! "Bald werde ich groß," she says. "Und dann wir beide arbeiten. Dann ich auch arbeiten. Mich und du." (Soon I get big, then we both work. Then I too work. Me and you.) But for now, we stick with the arrangement.
New Year, new life. Lovely. Finally.

Happy 2009, everyone!