Monday, Monday

It's Christmas Eve Eve. Not really a thing lol. 

I went out for a walk and as I sat watching the beavers there were a few spits of...something (?). For a few minutes I was worried it would start freezing rain, but it stopped. I did manage to get all the shopping done without anything happening (weatherwise). I have everything I need. I think. I hope. Well, it's done now. I shan't be going out tomorrow except for my walk. Is everything wrapped? Is everything ready? Well, no. I did get a bit more wrapping done and ran out of time when the guys came home. I'll finish it tomorrow. I have sausage rolls to make tomorrow and some Raspberry Almond Thumbprints to make. I'm expecting the guys to be home early tomorrow as they are usually let go from work a little early. Oldest son is taking time off work until the New Year (after we get back from daughter's - he's coming with us) and husband is taking the rest of the week off. We're not in England, but we've always tried to keep Boxing Day as a family day. 

When the children were younger, on Christmas Eve, we always had a film night and buffet. We did lots of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and all kinds of Marvel films. I always had a lot of fun that night even if I was really tired. After the films, I would read The Night Before Christmas before tucking the children into bed. We haven't done film night for a long time. Tomorrow night husband and I are going to watch the film That Christmas on Netflix. Someone on my Yes, there is an Ipswich Facebook group recommended it as they said it was set in a fictional Suffolk town. This is what I found

The town of Wellington-on-Sea is a fictitious creation for That Christmas, as no such town exists in the U.K. However, it was inspired by some real-life settings.

Director Richard Curtis told the BBC that, while Wellington-on-Sea is fictional, he took inspiration from the coastal towns of Walberswick and Southwold, with a "dab of Halesworth," which are all located in the English county of Suffolk.

The filmmaker noted how he lives on the east coast of Suffolk with his family, and that sense of "community and friendship" found there has been a "major interest in [his] life:"

It might be fun to watch - if it doesn't make me too homesick!

We are still doing a mini buffet. Not the lashings of food we used to have, but a few goodies to put out. Back when I was a child, we didn't have a lot of snacks but on Christmas, Mum always made it such a treat! We had chocolates, nuts, dates and figs put out to snack on as we wanted. It's a great memory and something I've tried to continue with. 

It's sort of fun to see what traditions daughter, her husband and their family comes up with. We were talking about this the other day. When my children were little, the smaller gifts came from Father Christmas and the larger ones came from us. That way if we couldn't afford a lot the children understood why they didn't get much. SIL's family was the opposite. They ended up comprising and are doing one big present from Father Christmas (or Santa as they call him) and smaller ones. I'm sure there are other things they will choose to do based on their memories. 

Photo today - another one of those lovely ornaments MIL made. This one is an American Robin

I can't believe I've posted every day for 23 days! Yikes, definitely a first for me!