Ramblings: Merry Christmas!
Everyone deserves a real family Christmas, akin to one spent as a child. We all have our own personal memories of Christmas, ones that we often pull through adulthood with us, nostalgia of more innocent days and memories of fun times trailing along with the tinsel every year. I wrote about some of mine in last year’s Christmas post. But I do think it is important to have some less than spectacular Christmases, in order to really appreciate those that are special. It will always be my favourite time of year, and nowadays, with two little girls and a partner in crime by my side, it has taken on an extra special kind of merriness and magic. After so many years of not being able to be near my family at Christmas and trying to recreate a semblance of it here it feels really good to not be constantly searching for that special Christmas feeling anymore. It’s there, the moment that December rings its opening bells and Cesar brings the Christmas tree home.
The last two Christmases I was pregnant… We actually only discovered I was pregnant with Aurora on Boxing Day morning, but I already knew deep down that I was carrying another child. So this past year has been a little bit of a whirlwind really! It’s as if half of the year was taken up by being pregnant, and the other half by learning to adapt to a growing family in the same apartment that we learnt to live together as three (or four, including Joey Ramone our incredibly patient and gentle cat). This Christmas we will cook and watch the girls unwrap presents (well, watch Luna destroy wrapping paper with glee), and spend time together, time that we don’t get enough of nowadays. There will be a mix of Mexican and British Christmas music playing on a loop, many movies watched and plenty of food eaten.
We have so much to do before Thursday, and most of that will need to be crammed into one day. Sunnyside for mince pies, chocolate, crisps, Bisto, HP sauce and bread, as well as a lovely Christmas cheer on the streets, Christmas presents for the kids and food shopping for the list of things that we are planning to make on both the 24th and the 25th. It’s supposed to be unseasonably warm on Friday so a good brisk walk won’t be out of the question, and Luna will be able to show off her pretty Christmas outfit. And I am planning on eating everything in sight because once the holidays are over I will need to start thinking about getting rid of this pregnancy weight that doesn’t seem to want to budge by itself (I guess naturally slim doesn’t always mean naturally slim after two pregnancies in less than two years). I’m planning on making oat roast, roast potatoes, roast veggies (Brussels, parsnips and carrots), steamed veggies, Yorkshire pudding, veggie stuffing (my mother used to always make me stuffing and roast it outside of the turkey), and Cesar will be making a roast beef. And of course, Bisto gravy! For dessert, mince pies and an assortment of pies and chocolate (not making any of that though, I don’t have the energy and we don’t have the kitchen space for endless baking unfortunately). Maybe some freshly baked croissants and scrambled eggs in the morning? On Christmas Eve we shall be making pot pies and mashed potatoes, and maybe Cesar can find some tamales on the way home from work… My mouth is watering even thinking about it! A vegetarian Christmas is super easy to create (although Cesar eats meat, everything else is cooked for the vegetarian in the house, so that I don’t miss out), and seeing as the kids will most likely both be vegetarian until they choose otherwise, it’s great that I can pass the traditions that my mum passed on to me on to them (if that makes sense).
We have already made our annual trips to the tree in Rockefeller Center and Santa (at the mall), and it was lovely to walk around the city, even though it was so warm it felt like we were in October, not December! Luna wasn’t interested in sitting on Santa’s lap, she actually used her banshee scream to let us know that she didn’t like him, but it did make for another hilarious goth Santa photo, especially with little Aurora sitting in the middle, all calm and smiley. (And Santa really looked like he needed a double shot of whiskey; scratch that, the whole bottle!). Other than that I’ve not made much of an effort with Christmas cards and gifts this year as it’s been a tough end of year financially with having to move and all, but I shall hopefully get back on that next year and be a little better (then again, who am I kidding, I wrote but forgot to send a bunch of thank you cards after Luna’s birth and sent about 4 Christmas cards last year. For some reason I have become terrible at that and I really must try harder at being well-mannered!).
2016 is going to bring a lot of changes for us, some we already know about, and others that are sure to happen. I’m more than excited to take a step into the future and see what it has to bring us. We all need some changes, a spurt of new inspiration and drive, so I am looking forward to what we shall do with everything that life will hand us down the road in the next few months. I have a lot of plans, and I know that Cesar has too, and it will be wonderful to see them to fruition together. (And maybe a few more date nights and nights out in the future?!).
In any case, thank you all for reading my blog, putting up with my ramblings and being a friend. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a fantastic 2016 with much love, happiness and friendship!!
(And here is my YouTube Christmas playlist for your own viewing and listening pleasure!)