A typical Christmas is the Bailey side of the family:
We used to wake up early but never very early. I remember waking up in the night to stare over at the airing cupboard where our stockings would be hanging, I think I may have even got up a few times to go and have a prod to see if they'd been filled. When we woke up we would run into Mum and Mark's room to see if we were allowed to bring our stockings in. I remember thinking, quick find the orange because it's the least exciting thing in there and I wanted to get it over and done with. We'd open most of our stocking presents on Mum and Mark's bed, I would make a neat pile with my new things. Then sometimes we'd have breakfast, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, in bed and then go downstairs before being allowed to open 1 or 2 presents from under the tree.
There would be the customary dog present. Which with Charlie would involve Mark trying to get the dog to open it himself but actually he would just open it until the dog could see the toy. Then we'd dress smartly and Grannie and Grandad would come round before we headed off to Church. Church was only 45 minutes and we lived 2 minutes walk away from Church. Then we'd come home and open presents, I would hate opening the presents from Mark's family - always a lynx gift set, and from Zoe (my Dad's Mum) a floral diary, to be honest I'd rather have had another orange.
My favourite part of the day was always dinner. Still is. I think we usually had dinner either at our house or at Grannie and Grandad's. It was the only time in the year that we got pigs in blankets and gravy that wasn't like water because that duty would have been taken away from Mark!
For many years in a row we watched 'The Santa Clause' Tim Allen film. Then we'd have a very chilled out rest of the day, putting together whatever toys and games we'd been given that year and eating after eights. As we got a bit older and Mark left, we started to go out for dinner more, once to the Gurka in town and I remember going to the Pulpit with it's wonderful gravy. When I started dating Hannah I remember the year of 2 Christmas dinners, I drove from Weymouth to Poole to be with her and her family but back home to have dinner with mine too.
My favourite Christmases of all have been the one's we've had on our own in London. Little bit of working but time to just be together.
By Adam, Hannah's husband.
(I'm shocked he did this, he's so good to me!!)
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