John and I were up early getting organised and then we went down to the cemetery to visit Dad, Elena, David, Les and Janet and Arthur. Sadly this morning saw the passing of Philippos's mother who was in her 90s and stole the show at one of the village festivals when she took to the stage. May she rest in peace and our thoughts are with the family for them Christmas will always be inextricably linked with her death. Her funeral will take place on Wednesday - the service being held in Inea because our village church is still being refurbished. It is always quite sobering when we leave the cemetery to realise that there are more and more people that we know who now rest there.
We returned home and John then shot off to pick up Lilian and Mum. Gail and Pete were coming over at 12.00 and I was trying to get everything cooked and kept warm and hopefully producing a decent Christmas Dinner.
I knew that Gail and Pete would be relaxed about sharing the day with Mum and Lilian and they were absolutely brilliant at including them in conversation and having a chat and a laugh when John and I were busy being host and hostess with the mostess.
We realised we had a problem with the fridge freezer early doors, not the freezer part but the fridge which was far too cold and much colder than it should have been irrespective of what setting we put it on. There wasn't any time to worry about it - at least too cold was better than not cold enough.
When everyone had arrived and met one another and settled into the (very warm) conservatory we opened the gift bags that I had prepared instead of crackers. Everyone had a festive headpiece, a Christmas photograph of themselves, a Christmas mug, a joke, a packet of smarties, a game, a carefully chosen keyring and a mini cracker which actually had a banger in it which worked and a joke and quiz question.
As we had insisted on no presents (save for the present game) the non crackers went down really well and really broke the ice and anyone who knows me knows I love to do things like that and with good old Jumbos and Shein or Temu with their unending supply of irresistible tat on offer it is a joy not a chore for me!
So once the gift bags had been fully investigated we were then ready for our Lunch. Lilian had kindly brought some Nosecco which I hadn't tried before but have to say was really rather nice and preferable to getting bloated on a load of fizzy pop. I was driving Mum and Lilian home later so was happy not to have anything to drink until I got back when I could kick off my heels and relax!
We had a variety of hot trays and throw away roasting tins to keep everything as hot as possible and very welcome they were too because we had to accommodate the following...
Roast Turkey and Roast Gammon, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, Yorkshire puddings, roast carrots, pigs in blankets, two type of stuffing, bread sauce, peas and sauteed leeks, mashed swede and carrot, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage and Brussels sprouts!!!!!
Johns temporary table top was a triumph and everyone liked the table decoration and personalisations and the food went down well too - Mum ate an enormous meal and was actually determined to finish everything she had taken even though we did tell her she didn't have to!!!! Needless to say we had a long break playing the present game before tackling pudding!!!
Sorry about the out of focus picture but this just goes to show what a frenetic game we had - Pete isn't a generally someone who plays cards or games but he got well into it and despite being late into the present selection process actually ended up with more gifts than anyone else. Somehow this always gets people laughing and today was no exception.
As the day wore on Mum decided she wanted to be home before dark to settle down with Fred and Lilian was happy with that so I took them back and Pete and Gail went home to spend time with the dogs, they returned for a nightcap when I got back from taxi duties. We all agreed it had been a lovely day and it really had been.
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