A Good Christmas

I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or as good as circumstances allow.

For us, it turned out to be our best Christmas for some years. Surprise! was a little overwhelmed by it all, and heartily sick of the whole thing by the time we'd unwrapped even only the presents Santa had brought (never mind the deluge at the two sets of grandparents'), but otherwise it was a nice restful time.

One of the key things that made for a better experience was that we elected not to head to my parents too early - instead we spent the morning at home, then went there after lunch (arriving just as they were finishing up). Then we headed to LC's parents in time for the big Christmas dinner.

(One thing is that that's still too late for the kids, but that should ease in future years, as Surprise! becomes less dependent on routine.)

Then we watched the "Ghosts" Christmas special, and that was basically that. A good day.

Boxing Day was also pretty good, doing most of the same things in reverse. But Boxing Day is always a day of chaos, and we've come to accept that.