AAWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND NEWS DECEMBER 21

After Christmas meal !


Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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WEEKEND

I have to make  a memorial for myself ! I only don't know where to put it, maybe in an extra private post in this Blog. The reason is that for the first time in my whole life I haven't spent Christmas Eve on December 24 as respectable people do (would my father say) !

Since I am married,  instead of the December 24 at 6 pm sharp, dressed up in our most festive clothes we had a glass of champagne together with my parents while we listened to Christmas music and unwrapped the gifts which lay under the tree. Then for years we had a Fondue Bourgignone.  I had always spent Christmas Eve with my parents alone, my grandma was never invited, I wanted to spent Christmas in our home as a freshly married couple. For my father it was a drama that we put up the tree a week or two before depending on our free time as we were both working, as he only did it on the 24th ! Apparently it was the use in his family.

Then came the time when we became parents. Each Christmas they came for at least a week, unfortunately it was no joy but fights, as they critisized everything. The way I kept my household, the way we raised our child, and they found a hundreds of reasons why Mr. G. was not the perfect man for me.

When my mother had passed away my father came here for the first and last time at Christmas, because I didn't exactly what his wife had to do. The years after we had to drive to Germany to spend Christmas with him, for me a torture. Fortunately at that time my son had a French girlfriend who came with us and  cheered me up and the next day the 25, we had to drive to France  to spend Christmas with her parents and 2 siblings. This was completely new to me and I loved it. Unfortunately the relationship broke and we were three again. Meanwhile my son had moved to London and I learned how to celebrate the English way ! The following years were the best Christmases I had, I think it was 2 or 3 times.

Then came the next change. He fell in love with a Dutch girl who didn't know a lot about celebrating Christmas, but did her best and we met her for the first time at Christmas Eve in Waterloo. When they had a little apartment we celebrated in Amsterdam. My son invited all his English friends who couldn't go home so that they were not alone on Christmas Eve, which I found really nice and it had been a very funny Christmas too.

When Toby was born it became again different. They were so busy with the baby that they forgot everything around them. On top we didn't open our gifts on Christmas Eve but on the 25th, which I found awful ! In pyjama and bathrobes half sleeping and not in the best mood so early mornings. I couldn't understand why my son who his whole life had celebrated the German way suddenly wanted to celebrate the English way. I love the English way, but not the fact to get up early morning and fight with gift paper !

I protested, I was ready to go on strike and not celebrate at all with them even Mr. G. agreed.

And this year it was a completely different Christmas from all the Christmases I had ever celebrated in my whole life.

I became philosophic, I asked myself why do I stick so much to traditions and principles  ? For what ? Why did I cry because Christmas was not like in my childhood and youth or later why did my son not teach his son our traditions ? And suddenly I thought I am silly or stupid or whatever. Why spoil the rest of my life with principles ??

So with joy I agreed to Christmas Eve on the 21st together with my son's best friend and family, and instead of having a traditional Christmas meal, dressed up sitting at the table, with the silver cutlery and the best dishes, we pushed the table to the window "threw" dishes and cutlery (the one from the kitchen) on the table my son picked up a delicious Libanese meal, which we didn't even put in bowls but left them as they were wrapped in plastic boxes ! Too much work they said and they took care of everything. I was sitting like a queen on our sofa, (Mr. G. was chased from the kitchen too) and when everything was ready we lined up and everybody took what he wanted. That was real fun ! After the meal we had Christmas Crackers also unknown, I had found them in my English shop, and then we chatted while in the background Christmas music played, cat Arthur meowed for  food and the two boys had a lot of fun with a game. I had bought a metal detector for Toby which he first had to assemble with mums help and then they were looking for metal (gold, money you can always dream) in the whole house.




The beginning .....



Family picture



Assembling of the metal detector with mum's help



Looking for metal, coins and gold ....



The table full of a variety of food, cold and hot



With full bellies a little rest




18 year old Arthur had also a full belly and earned a good rest !

What a nice Christmas !! No stress, no fights, only laughter and joy ! As it should be

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New year !!

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

This week of course was full of events which I can't even number so my Favourite 5 will be from
one to five in two parts !

On Monday we expected our son with family who arrived from Amsterdam around 1 pm. Father Christmas was hidden in the trunk of their car with lots of gifts and while they emptied the car  2 year old Toby immediately had recognized that he was in Nonno's and Nonna's house.



First thing he wanted was to make his rounds on the terrace, followed by cat Arthur, who, strangly loves toddlers ! Toby decorated our French windows with little "cars" stickers assisted by Arthur. After a brunch he had his afternoon nap, while we all four played Father Christmas and put the gifts under the Christmas tree.



There were lots and lots of packages, and I had glued pictures of our faces on the parcels so he could recognize to whom the gift was destinated. And then he arrived with a big smile and discovered the colorful boxes under the tree. While we had an apperitif with little snacks the unpacking started !



We had explained to him what he had to do, he took is job very seriously and distributed meticulously the gifts looking first at the photo.



Of course he pulled out the biggest once first, which what a coincidence (!!) were with his photo ! With Mamma's, Papa's and Nonna's help he unpacked his gifts. Arthur also wanted to help !

When finally we had a big mountain of paper laying around and all gifts were unwrapped,
we started our Christmas Eve meal. Smoked slices of Salmon on toast, while Toby had his main course.



Then we made a pause and he played a bit



But he got quickly tired, it had been so exciting, he was ready for bed ! Therefore the "official" Christmas pictures with Papa and Nonna, were "perfect" !



When he was in bed, we started the main course, a Pierrade which is a raclette underneath to melt the cheese and above has two plates, one in stone and one as a grill. So we had all kind of meat and cheese, which everybody prepared himself and I served a salad and jacket potatoes with it. It's fun and it tastes good !


And as dessert we had a rasperry ice cream "Bûche de Noël" litteraly translated it means a "Christmas log".

Full and happy the young parents started to built up Toby's new Garage and a little train station.



Daddy tried, but Mamma was far better in assembling and screwing the parts together and took over the job !

On Christmas afternoon we went to the huge Christmas market in Brussels (around 210 stalls)



but first we had a look on the ugliest Christmas tree of the world on the Grand'Place. The market was so crowded that it was hard to see the stalls and it was really too annoying for Toby who only saw legs, and when he was sitting on Papa's shoulders he could see everything even more then we did, but he wanted Mamma. So we carried a loud screaming Toby through the crowd !



A Brussels' wafel calmed him down for a while, but finally we returned we had seen enough. Once on the sidewalk where he could run on his own legs, he was a happy little boy again.

In the evening we had our traditional Christmal meal, a turkey filled with prunes, chestnuts and Armagnac which was really delicious, and before as a Starter Scallops.



Our son keeps to traditons and had ordered the traditional "Bûche de Noël, which is made with chocolate mousse inside. Toby prefered Mama's fish plate to the turkey !

Now to be honnest I didn't do all this cooking ! I just bought it in my favorite "Deepfreeze" shop !



After his bath, Nonno read a story to Toby before he went to bed and so ended Christmas.

The next day, they left after breakfast, and we rested the whole day ! I had to sort out hundreds of pictures so I had enough to do.

The week ended in terrible rain and I took the opportunity to clean the house and then I just watched TV and blogged a bit !