So this is Christmas

…and what have you done, as the song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono asks. We’re ready in this house. Almost. We got everything we need food-wise yesterday but got home only to realise we’d forgotten just one thing. Of course it had to be what we consider to be essential for our Christmas dinner: the stuffing! Despite having to brave the shops today for just this one item, we’re now pretty zen about our preparations for the big day. And it snowed heavily last night; the landscape outside is stunningly beautiful, astoundingly white and reflective.

We’ll start Christmas Day with croissants for brekkie and then we’ll be opening our gifts to each other and from family to lots of oohs and ahhs of delight. We’ll be having a vegetarian roast with all the trimmings, including parsnips and cabbage fresh from our own back garden, followed by chocolate and cherry pudding with cream. We’ll be enjoying the first of David Tennant’s final two Doctor Who episodes at 6pm, avoiding the Queen’s Speech in the afternoon because, in the words of Morrissey, “it says nothing to me about my life” and would be guaranteed to send us to sleep. Relaxation, food, telly. Bugger all else.

Christmas will, in short, be a perfect day we only got round to organising at the last minute. And somehow we managed to get done what needed to be done. Except for the stuffing, but we’ll get home later today with one kind or another.

I can’t say not a creature will be stirring on Christmas Eve, not even a mouse, because we have 19 hens and a cockerel to care for, just the same as every other day of the year, and they outdoors and our terrapins indoors will be enjoying some cooked brussel sprouts tomorrow because we bought far more than we’ll eat, on purpose. Christmas means nothing to animals, of course, but because it means something to us and because we love our animals, they’ll get treats regardless.

The cats too will get special attention, most likely helping us to open our presents and being given empty boxes to play with. Cats, like little children, love cardboard boxes. They’ll be happy and so will we.

I’d like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas. Don’t forget to leave out some mince pies and sherry for the Big Red Pagan Guy.