10 Things I Learnt This Christmas...

1. Christmas is definitely way more magical when you’re a child…. the excitement on my little nieces’ faces when they were tearing open their presents under the tree was quite something to behold.

2. Christmas presents are far more sophisticated these days than when I was a child… way back then, the only “blackberry” we had heard of was a fruit typically found with apples in pies!

3. Garden furniture is very handy for indoor use when you have a load of Christmas visitors to fit around the dinner table.

4. My culinary skills are definitely improving, even if I say so myself… I made a very tasty lamb stew for Christmas Eve supper, a full roast beef dinner (with roast potatoes, glazed carrots, green beans, mini Yorkshire puddings, and port and red onion gravy) for Christmas Day, and then fall-off-the-bone tender roast chickens with a medley of roasted vegetables for Boxing Day. And nothing got burnt… well, apart from those leftover Yorkies that I was trying to warm up under the grill!

5. I also make a mean Christmas cake… perhaps it was all that rum but it certainly went down well, especially with a hefty slice of “Double Gloucestershire” cheese on the side.

6. My Christmas trifle, on the other hand, needs some re-mastering… a tad on the bland side!

7. My usually tee-totaler mom becomes extremely chatty after three glasses of champagne!

8. ‘Love Actually’ is still my all-time favourite “Christmas” movie, but the novelty of ‘Merry Madagascar’ and ‘Shrek The Halls’ is wearing a little thin… not so much for my nieces though!

9. I’ll never tire of cheesy Christmas lights…. which is lucky, since my neighbours hold an annual “We have the cheesiest festive decorations” contest!

10. Someone clearly lacking in common sense and good taste has decided to can Satan’s green balls….I discovered this horror on a trip to the supermarket....

Effectively farts in a can.. or at least in the making!