English Christmas experiences
Jeremy just returned from the US on Friday and to keep him awake we went into the city for the day. First stop to see Father Christmas at Harrod's. We were told he was one of the best and that it was a unique experience so of course we had to check it out. We were warned about the queues, but Harrod's does it right. We arrived around 11:30 or so and got a ticket to see Father Christmas for 2 pm, just enough time for a quick lunch, run a quick errand, and get back in time to stand in the 2 pm queue. Harrod's has some entertainment, snacks and even water while you wait! Thankfully after lunch Sophie fell asleep and slept through the 45 minute queue and we had to wake her before we went in to see Father Christmas. She may not have been fully awake. The "helpers" walk you down a hallway and have the children knock three times on the door of Father Christmas. He is sitting down on a well decorated bench with a notebook in hand to take notes. He asks Sophie her name (no response), if she has been good (weak yes), what does she want for Christmas (no response), the size of her chimney (no response, she got a little shy...He was very good. Another helper tries to take a photo or two (Jeremy and I did not want to be in it, but we didn't seem to have a choice...), then Father Christmas all of us buttons (a bit cheesey) that say of course I saw Father Christmas at Harrod's and a cute book. Sophie loved it though she was barely awake until after it was over. We survived it and can say we saw the Father Christmas at Harrod's. 
On Saturday we attended a great show called the Mouse Queen at the Hampstead Theatre with the Hampstead Women's Club and many of our friends which was fantastic! Very interesting and creative show that was well worth the money! It was long, almost 2 hours with intermission. Sophie loves theatre though and loved the lion in it, when most of the other kids were a bit scared of him--weird! The actors/actresses were playing instruments, singing, doing puppetry which took 2-3 people, it was fantastic! Afterward we enjoyed lunch at the Swiss Cottage Community Center Cafe with Sophie's friends, Sam and Harry and their older brother and sister Meg and Jake. Sophie and Jake were really keen on each other that day. After the kids were done eating they wanted to watch swimming down below the cafe so we let them do so. There was a birthday party at a table close by and Sophie hearing they had cake went right up to the table and sat down waiting for her cake. Jake tried to get her down but she shrugged him off (she really wanted cake!). I got up quickly to pull her away from the table and apologized to the parents who laughed hysterically at this! Sophie will never refuse a dessert!
Saturday night I spent a final 5 hours finishing up Christmas cookies for friends, neighbors, and teachers. The final list of goodies, a million dozen spritz cookies, 6 dozen truffles, 7 dozen peanut butter balls, 20 coconut mice, 2 pans of no bake chocolate squares, 1 pan of mint chocolate cheesecake brownie bars, and finally pecan tassies. Only causality was one burn on my arm that I didn't even realize I had done until the next day...
Sunday we spent the day with the Longhurt's and celebrated Christmas the English way. We helped them decorate their trees (their main tree and a little children's tree in the kitchen). Sophie loves all the four kids and was having a great time with the "big girl" Meagan and playing with the kids all day. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch with turkey, stuffing, roasted veggies, brussel sprouts, cranberries, and of course Christmas crackers. The kids exchanged gifts. The younger kids had naps while we watched Miracle on 34th Street, Sophie was wiped out with all the playtime. Then it was onto appetizers, Christmas pudding and mince pies while the kids had some pasta, pesto and veggies. The Christmas pudding was quite strong but good. How I managed to get a mince pie down after all of that was beyond me, but it was good. The day was fabulous! What great friends and what a great day! Thanks Tracy and Paul!
posted by Chris @ 4:26 PM
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