So this year Christmas was lovely, it was nice.
Next year it is going to be amazing!!
Esther and William will be almost three and a half. They will be at preschool 15 hours a week. They will understand more about Christmas, the Christian beliefs and the commercial craziness. It is going to be our most magical and meaningful yet.
And with that in mind, planning has already begun!
I have bought Esther and William a Playmobil advent calendar each.
I am making an advent activity planner so that we can make lots of cards, presents and decorations.
I have also recorded all the things that worked this year that we want to repeat or build on next Christmas.
Covering the entrance to the playroom was a fabulous idea! Next year we will definitely be doing this again and hiding their larger presents, unwrapped, behind the hidden door.
One of the things that made my Christmas this year was my early morning one to one time with Matilda Mae. Christmas morning is a magical time and David and I have promised that our children will always wake up in their own home on Christmas morning. And while they are young there will only be us there.
It is such a very special time that really does not last for long. I am determined to cherish it and make it special for us and them.
Christmas 2013 I am hoping that we will once again spend Christmas Eve with friends before taking Esther and William to either our local crib service or to one with Granny and Grandad Henley, who live just 10 minutes away.
Christmas Eve night David and I will prepare the house and finish the wrapping whilst watching festive TV.
Christmas morning we will be woken I am sure by Esther and William coming into our room as we are moving them from cots to beds very soon!!
We will have stockings in front of the fire and one present left by the fire from Father Christmas.
We will then break through into the playroom for breakfast and more presents. 2012 we had cereal for our early breakfast and then a second breakfast of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup. Definitely something that I think we should do again.
We will enjoy Christmas morning, the five of us, before heading to David’s Mum’s for Christmas dinner with all the Henley clan.
Christmas night will be spent back at home again so that we can relax behind closed doors. I think it is important to be at home for Christmas perhaps because as a child I rarely was.
On Boxing Day we like to go out for a walk to a place such as Bedgebury or Leeds Castle. It helps to get out early and blow the cobwebs away before playing back at home with all the new toys. 2012 saw Esther and William get scooters for Christmas and so they were very keen to get outside.
One thing we did and really enjoyed in 2012 was host a games night on New Years Eve. We would like to make this a new tradition and hope that we will get a regular set of people that come every year. Will be lovely as the children get older for them to become more involved in the final party of the year. I have been collecting ideas on Pinterest!!
So Christmas is over for another year but I am already plotting and planning for the next one.
Is this what being a mummy has done to me?
I am totally caught up in the magic and wonder of Christmas!
354 sleeps to go!