The run up to Christmas has felt fairly chaotic for the last month or two, although Jonathan’s first term of school finished a week ago, so we’ve enjoyed some time being free of that routine at least. Finally I feel like I can relax a bit and let Christmas happen without any more interference from me!
This Christmas, our lovely friends in York have offered to host us once again. They’ve multiplied since we last did this though (in 2009), so while we’re really looking forward to spending time together, we’re only staying over for one night and hoping not to cramp their style too much.
Tomorrow then, we’re driving down to York laden with goodies for our much anticipated Christmas get-together, then rolling back to Durham in the evening on Christmas Day. And then on Boxing Day, we’re driving across to the other side of the country to spend time with Tom’s cousin and extended family.
We’d really hoped to visit London as well this holiday, but once we’d pinned down York, we realised that there really wasn’t enough holiday left to fit in a week in London too. The County Durham schools all broke up last week (16 Dec) and go back on the 3rd of January – this turns out to be different from a lot of other counties, and is surprisingly inconvenient where holiday planning is concerned.
Anyway, the end result is that instead of cramming in three trips away, we’ve all had a fairly relaxed week at home. We took Jonathan to see the local “Jack and the Beanstalk” pantomime last Sunday (which went well), and we took the train for another little jaunt around Newcastle yesterday. Other than that, it’s just been getting through our Christmas to-do lists, enjoying the Christmas season bounty of mince pies and mulled wine, and spending time with friends. All good. 
All that remains then is to wish you all a very special Christmas and may you know the peace and joy that Christ’s arrival brought into the world at this time.
