Santa Claus and Dear Friends

Twas a couple of days before Christmas and all through the house, the children were gearing up to go see SANTA CLAUS!  Usually we go to Selfridge's for Santa, but this year they didn't have their grotto, so we decided to explore other options.  At the school fair, Santa proved to be skinny, 'didn't even say Ho Ho Ho!' and had to be prompted to ask the girls what they wanted for Christmas, so we were a little wary of what Santa at our local garden center would be like.  Evie is no fool and is quick to assess the authenticity of Santa.  Usually, Santa doesn't pass the test.

So, after having a pep talk about Santa and all of his Santa Helpers who saw children and gave messages back to the REAL Santa, we headed to the garden center.  Santa scored points by having coloring and the movie Polar Express playing in the waiting room. 

He also had several rooms dedicated to the North Pole and a friendly elf who was happy to sit through our family rendition of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

 And, as we approached the door, we could hear him Ho Ho Ho'ing his heart out!  He was a jolly Santa with a good sense of humor and the girls loved him. He laughed at their jokes and conceded that he liked banana cookies (a recipe that was new to us, but suggested by Evie).  He also suggested doing jazz hands for some of the pictures, which Jim and I thought was amazing!

So did he pass the test?  After some thought, Evie concluded that he did not.  'His voice wasn't right and even though his belly was big, his beard had some strings hanging from it.'  Off the record, his costume was also kind of ridiculous. BUT, we all agreed that he's probably one of Santa's closest helpers and will definitely relay all the 'wants' (except the ipad ask that Millie sprung on us.  Yeah, right.)

But really, as Jim pointed out, how hard would it be to pay a little more for a chubby guy with a real beard?

After all that excitement, we had even more to look forward to on Christmas Eve. Our dear friends Rashmi and Siddarth are in town and, since we hadn't seen them for over five years, we were thrilled to be able play tourist with them this afternoon. First stop:  Covent Garden! 

Where we spent no less than £13 pounds on street performers....some of whom were more worth it than others!

Eventually, after wandering and a stop for pizza, we parted at Regents Street, where throngs of crowds were doing their last minute Christmas shopping. Nothing like leaving it until Christmas Eve! 

So, happy times with good friends, a decent Santa, and, to top it off, we stood outside in the freezing cold to see if we could see Santa off in space (we think we did!).  Tomorrow should be fun!  Merry Christmas Eve!

The Great

Recently, one of my friends sent me an article about appreciating the great in your life.  It was all about how we focus on good things (which, for the author, included cleaning her house. I can assure you that I never feel good about cleaning my house) but forget to focus on the great things. Despite whether I agree or not with her idea of what is good in life, it's a really important message.  So, now that the dust has settled, I'm trying to be more aware of and appreciate all the great things in my life: my family, my friends, the times like this when I'm finally focusing on the kind of writing that I enjoy, the dog that's snoring in my lap, the Christmas tree that we all picked out together a few weeks ago.

In London, everyone sells Christmas trees.  Most of our neighbors get their trees from a Tile store a few blocks away or from the off license corner store.  For a fancier and more expensive tree, people go to the garden center.  After paying more than I'll ever admit for a tree in Hampstead one year, we vowed never to buy a tree in London and every year, rain or shine, whether we feel like it or not, we drive out to Chesham and get our tree from a real, live tree farm.  Not only is it cheaper, but it's a lot more fun!

This year, because we have tall ceilings, we were able to really go crazy and get what we call an "American Style" tree.  After not much deliberation and in the pouring down rain, we picked our big, tall tree, put it on top of our car, and drove it back to London.  We had to trim the top down to make it fit in our living room and we're not sure how we're going to get it out again, but we love it (even if we have to keep it in our living room forever).

But before we drove back, we enjoyed a short country walk and a pub lunch in Amersham, with Aggy, our faithful and beloved, if slightly not house trained beagle. (At some point I'll blog about the trauma of having to rehome Sonny,  our puppy of the previous blog). 

 London at Christmas time is, in some ways, a lot quieter than usual (for instance, I'm thoroughly enjoying sitting in my living room without having to listen to the bass of our neighbors' TV booming through the floor or to the hysterical screaming of the teenaged girl next door, which just reminds me of what my life is going to be like in about six or seven years).  But in Central London, things are in full swing with lights and decorations hanging form the skies and each department store trying to out decorate the next. Selfridge is always a festive destination and this year they had their windows decked out in slightly creepy scenes from Grimms' fairy tales. 

It's been a fun Christmas so far, full of really special and much needed time all together, a lot of food, great friends and smiling, if exhausting little girls. We're lucky to have wonderful friends to share our holidays with, when we're so far away from our own family.  We have also discovered the wonder that is the Winter Pimm's Cup, which adds to the Christmas merry making.  I am of the opinion that traditional (in England) mulled wine tastes like cheap red wine mixed with potpourri, but Winter Pimm's is dangerously delicious.  Here's the recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/889647/winter-pimms-punch

And here I am with Jim, a little happy from drinking a couple of glasses of Winter Pimm's before our annual Christmas get together with some of our dear London friends.

 The girls did not partake in the punch, but were still in the festive spirit!

 Eight little girls enjoyed hot dogs and Christmas crackers in our kitchen.

 While, in the living room the adults (and a leopard) ate Louisiana gumbo, homemade bread, delicious salad, spicy Mauritian red beans, and meringue.

After a feast like that, it was necessary to spend the next day out and about in the fresh air.  Alexandra Palace is the site of the BBC's first public television station.  These days it's got an ice rink, a really depressing pub, and hosts things like 'the world dart championships' or 'Bierfest' or 'The International Tattoo and Body Art Festival.'  It has been taken over by a charity, though, and with Big Lottery Funding they are slowly improving things at the 'people's palace.'

Some of us are very fashionable (not Jim or me, sadly) and it was with our stylish children that we headed to the Ally Pally Farmer's market, which is full of  olives, Mediterranean food,  locally sourced sausages and meat, art and, my favorite, Bokit'la, home of delicious West Indian food and run by three very handsome and friendly men from Guadaloupe. YUM. (I'm talking about the food, obviously).

 Aggy, who came to us from the country, is in her element when there are wide open spaces to run in.

 Evie and Millie are in their element when there is hot chocolate to drink (even if it is from the depressing pub). So Ally Pally is a great place for us! 

Another great: ending a long day with a family movie night, watching the Muppet's family Christmas and snuggled up with a warm and sort of smelly dog.  I love Christmas.