Feliz Navidad

And so this is Christmas... Rowan was the first to break ranks at the unholy hour of 0430 or so. Apparently he didn't look at his clock but instead went for his stocknig and emptied it. Sean and Finn were awake but resisting the temptation. Sharon intervened but Rowan, being Rowan, didn't retreat to bed quietly. Somehow, Angus kept asleep.

The second coming was just before seven. Angus and Rowan went through to their brothers' room and opened their stockings. I found them all bright-eyed and excited. Sean thought he had heard Santa. Angus noted that half of Santa's mince pie and Rudolph's carrot had gone. I kept them up for a quarter of an hour or so before releasing them downstairs and into the living room. Santa had delivered!

There was much whooping and hollering, especially when Finn saw his huge plush dog. "That's massive!" pronounced Angus. Rowan's excitement levels reached the pitch only he can muster as he tore into his pile of presents. All the boys had some presents from Santa and some from Mum and Dad as well as a number of others. Angus would sit on the couch and struggle to open a present then bring it over to show his Mammy before returning to his pile. Rowan was a whirling dervish in a blizzard of ripped wrapping paper while Sean and Finn were more conservative in their approach. Finn got a lot of art materials whilst Sean was pleased with his iTunes card, Now 83 CD and Lego log cabin. Angus was delighted to get a plush Mickey Mouse and other Mickey stuff, including a breakfast set. It's hard to say whether Rowan was happy with his presents as it seems to be the act of opening them that excites him most.

As the dust settled and the shreds of paper were gathered up, the boys began to choose one or two of their presents to play with while Sharon made a festive cooked breakfast. The day was quite quiet after that, with Sharon occupied mostly in the kitchen, singing along to Les Miserables while she prepared the turkey and ham for the late afternoon lunch. I took Rowan out for a scoot round Winton. It was a pleasant day, but the westerly wind was brisk. After dinner, featuring creme brulees by candlelight, Sharon took the other three out for a walk around the block too. It's hard work dragging the boys out at the moment. TV, laptop games (or TV on the laptop), iPods, Nintendo DS - these all seem to be irresistible compared to reading a book or getting some fresh air. I spent most of the day struggling with an iTunes upgrade.

We watched some festive telly - Tangled and Strictly Come Dancing - but that was about the extent of sitting down together before bedtime. Soon the boys were tucked back up in bed. That's it all over for another year, as Lesley and I used to say. Although Angus was asking when Santa was coming again.