So many Christmases have come and gone. As adults the magic has worn increasingly thin to the extent that last year we had very few presents (they were somewhere in the Atlantic) and the morning was spent in a supermarket. That's not to say it was bad, just lacking some of the wonder.
But even then we knew it would change and we knew it was going change in December 2011. Harriet has been singing jingle bells for weeks now and when we went to see the see the tree at the Rock she spied a skating Father Christmas on the ice rink and nearly exploded with excitement.
J managed all the logistics smoothly. My only task was to do the last shop with J while Sarah looked after Harriet. In the evening the time finally came to go to bed and we set out the sherry and mince pie for Santa. Lacking carrots for Rudolph we used some of the tortoise leaves as a substitute - Harriet ignored the sherry and mince pie but was trying to munch the leaves before the red nosed one could get there.
Bed time came and once she was off J set to work on making the stockings. As a modern twist he then used an iPhone app to take pictures of the apartment, superimposing pictures of Father Christmas as he delivered the presents.
The morning came and she climbed into bed. "I've got a push chair" she said, matter-of-factly. "Is there a stocking?", "Yes", "Shall we have a look?", "OK".
Next year we won't get away with such a super-cool approach! Once the stocking came out she became increasingly excited. It was the little things that really captured her imagination like a 50 cent plastic wand and an owl key-ring that shone bright blue light on demand.
When we showed her the pictures of Santa she was hysterical - "That's my room!!!"
Once downstairs the adults opened their stockings. I got an awesome massager plus a non-spill wine glass and various stain removers (just in case). I had got J a calendar of country music quotations, a national geographic photo book and a mock children's book ("Go the **** to sleep"). Sarah and I got a joint present of a vintage Atari games console.
We had insisted that my mother wait till she saw us before she opened her present. So we fired up Skype and saw her just before her Christmas lunch. Her present, a locket, contains small pictures of Harriet and a curl of her hair to keep her close though she is so far away.
Breakfast was pancakes and bacon - what else? We have got Harriet her own stool that lets her sit at the table without a booster seat (she loves T's) so she could sit with us (only orange juice unlike the bucks fizz we were knocking back).
The presents were amazing. I don't want to highlight any one particular thing so let's leave it there but honestly we are so lucky. Harriet had an absolute ball and we could all kick back as she played like a mad thing.
Too much prossecco and an over-excited child meant that it was time for a break. We took a walk out to Washington Square park for some fresh air and a run around.
We were home to catch up with J's family at Kev and Amy's before it was time for dinner. Christmas Dinner was a perfect blend of tradition and modernity. We had French onion soup, followed by turkey and ultimately Christmas pudding (sourced from the British store on Hudson). It was such a wonderful, leisurely dinner and Harriet was very much part of the table and conversation. She bowed out, exhausted, before pudding - her first Christmas when she really knew what was going on.
As tradition dictates we ended the night with a board game which was hilarious, though not in the way the designers intended (we were just doing parodies of the questions at the end).
So that is it, a perfect Christmas. Thank you to Sarah for coming, to our families and friends across the world and to J for making it all happen seamlessly.
Most of all, thank you Harriet for making it truly magical.
But even then we knew it would change and we knew it was going change in December 2011. Harriet has been singing jingle bells for weeks now and when we went to see the see the tree at the Rock she spied a skating Father Christmas on the ice rink and nearly exploded with excitement.
J managed all the logistics smoothly. My only task was to do the last shop with J while Sarah looked after Harriet. In the evening the time finally came to go to bed and we set out the sherry and mince pie for Santa. Lacking carrots for Rudolph we used some of the tortoise leaves as a substitute - Harriet ignored the sherry and mince pie but was trying to munch the leaves before the red nosed one could get there.
Bed time came and once she was off J set to work on making the stockings. As a modern twist he then used an iPhone app to take pictures of the apartment, superimposing pictures of Father Christmas as he delivered the presents.
The morning came and she climbed into bed. "I've got a push chair" she said, matter-of-factly. "Is there a stocking?", "Yes", "Shall we have a look?", "OK".
Next year we won't get away with such a super-cool approach! Once the stocking came out she became increasingly excited. It was the little things that really captured her imagination like a 50 cent plastic wand and an owl key-ring that shone bright blue light on demand.
When we showed her the pictures of Santa she was hysterical - "That's my room!!!"
Once downstairs the adults opened their stockings. I got an awesome massager plus a non-spill wine glass and various stain removers (just in case). I had got J a calendar of country music quotations, a national geographic photo book and a mock children's book ("Go the **** to sleep"). Sarah and I got a joint present of a vintage Atari games console.
We had insisted that my mother wait till she saw us before she opened her present. So we fired up Skype and saw her just before her Christmas lunch. Her present, a locket, contains small pictures of Harriet and a curl of her hair to keep her close though she is so far away.
Breakfast was pancakes and bacon - what else? We have got Harriet her own stool that lets her sit at the table without a booster seat (she loves T's) so she could sit with us (only orange juice unlike the bucks fizz we were knocking back).
The presents were amazing. I don't want to highlight any one particular thing so let's leave it there but honestly we are so lucky. Harriet had an absolute ball and we could all kick back as she played like a mad thing.
Too much prossecco and an over-excited child meant that it was time for a break. We took a walk out to Washington Square park for some fresh air and a run around.
We were home to catch up with J's family at Kev and Amy's before it was time for dinner. Christmas Dinner was a perfect blend of tradition and modernity. We had French onion soup, followed by turkey and ultimately Christmas pudding (sourced from the British store on Hudson). It was such a wonderful, leisurely dinner and Harriet was very much part of the table and conversation. She bowed out, exhausted, before pudding - her first Christmas when she really knew what was going on.
As tradition dictates we ended the night with a board game which was hilarious, though not in the way the designers intended (we were just doing parodies of the questions at the end).
So that is it, a perfect Christmas. Thank you to Sarah for coming, to our families and friends across the world and to J for making it all happen seamlessly.
Most of all, thank you Harriet for making it truly magical.
