Christmas Eve

Austin is a complete sugar addict so there is no way he could be trusted if I left the chocolates in the Advent Calender/Truck for the whole month, but I kept forgetting to put them in after the kids were in bed, so they would wake up excited and run to check the box, only to find nothing. Then I would say "ok hide your eyes" while I put them in. It happened so many times that by the end Lily didn't even bother checking, she would just stand by it and say "I hiding my eyes Mummy"

Nothing like a chocolate coin to wake you up

We had Christmas drinks (and Jelly) with some friends at Zubi which was a really great evening, including the eye-opening experience of a bus trip home with 4 sleepy kids and lots of seriously drunk youngsters on their way home from the local pub, we felt soooooo old - and I'm sure they thought we were too.

Cookies and milk for Santa Claus, Lily was fast asleep by the time we got home so Austin had to do it on his own

We had no carrots so the reindeer got corn and some DIRT - when we had Santa photos taken the kids were given carrot seeds to plant for Santa's reindeer. They didn't grow in time though, which Santa had said might happen but not to worry because the reindeer would still know where the seeds were.

Then it was off to bed for an exhausted Austin - not for his exhausted and slightly tipsy parents though, who had another hour or so of organising presents, filling sacks and final wrappings. I do love Christmas but boy is it tiring and I'm kind of glad when it's over . . .