It is one of life’s greatest pleasures to have children come to play in the home at Christmas and never more so than when it is family.  Distant, but not in distance, cousins came to play today and we had so much fun. We all had a very good lunch of pizza with salad and garlic bread followed by ice cream with strawberries and then settled into the very serious business of icing gingerbread men.

From the moment that the door had been knocked one could hear the spontaneous crackle of chatter and laughter as they entered, coats discarded, shoes thrown off as the conversation became more energised by the moment.  Soon after lunch we prepped the table for the icing extravaganza and the energy and chatter was reaching fever pitch. And then five minutes in, you could hear a pin drop, which isn’t bad for an age range of 15 to 2. You could hear the concentration in the room as each strove to make their own individual masterpiece. Their Mum and I smiled to each other, it was just perfection.As we soaked up the moment. And almost instantly the spell was broken as we burst into laughter as we watched a little icing eating going on. Deep in thought, perhaps as to what the next gingerbread should be.  There was a little playing with the nativity set. And a little giggling in the big arm chair. All too soon we were just about finished, all boys and girls were very proud of their iced gingerbreads and we all had had a lovely afternoon. All gingerbread men and women with the most whacky of stripped trousers and jazzy suits, reindeers with the brightest of red jelly noses and squiggly monsters, morphed icicle’s and snowmen placed neatly for a quick photo, when I realised. One of us was still going strong.  He was so cute. Eventually all packed up in a box, ready to go home.

It was the best of times, I hope to remember it always.