To tell you about Christmas I guess I should start with events leading up to Christmas. After the first bout of snow at the end of November beginning of December that refused to go away and the Christmas fair, we saw a bit of a thaw. Because of traffic congestion round Christmas I just never got to the shops, work was really busy as this is our busiest time of the year, new budget new software releases etc. I had to work on Saturday the 11th and the following Saturday I was just so tired I never got to the shops. So it was 1 week-end shopping day left to Christmas, Emily and I head out and got stuck in a 7km tail back to get to the shopping centre. We turned around, so I thought okay I know they are open till 11 p.m. every night this week, I will go on Monday night as that is the best night probably to shop.
Monday sitting at work it started to snow, work had decided on the Friday that they were taking us to Dundrum for dinner on Monday night, and I though okay shopping, dinner home brilliant plan. Well it started to snow and snow and snow, colleagues that left work at 5 o'clock were stuck in traffic on the Motorway with the snow and ice. I ended up leaving work at 7:30 p.m. and got caught in a blizzard, I came off the Motorway and got onto the dual carriageway only to get stuck in traffic, it took me 3 hours to travel about 10 km's - I then pulled my car over near to the City as I was in desperate need of a rest room break, went to a friends house for an hour, went back to my car and by this time there was hardly any traffic however there was snow and ice on the road and it took me a further hour to drive another 10 km's. Because we live in an estate that has an incline there was just no way my car would get up, so I abandoned my car up the road past our estate, not to see if until a week later.
The Tuesday and Wednesday I worked from home, I had to go into the office on the Thursday because some of my colleagues were leaving early and also I had ordered some gifts for Emily which were lying at the office. It was a busy day, luckily D was off and drove me to work and then went to do the grocery shopping for Christmas day and came to fetch me from work again. Friday the 24th is like a bank holiday 90% of companies give their workers the day off, so I had time to clean the house and start preparing lunch for Christmas day. I was tempted to go to the shops but with the snow and ice the radio reports were not good and who wants to be stuck in traffic on Christmas eve, so whatever I had as gifts would just have to suffice. D drew the short straw as he spoiled me rotten and I hardly got him a thing.
Emily was up early as always and we had all decided that we would shower and dress before opening presents, so 7 a.m. I was in the shower, we were all down before 8 and the present opening began. Although I had not really got to the shops Emily had loads of gifts to open, I had DVD's from her grandparents that we wrapped. Books from her Auntie Gwen little books and things that I had gotten her from D & I so she had loads of stuff to open, thoroughly spoiled.
I was quite relieved that I had done everything the day before because the phone started ringing both on Skype and home so only had time to bung the Chicken and Veggies in the oven and get chatting to everyone. 
D went out to fetch Lisa and not longer after Lisa arrived, Joe, Carla and Xavier arrived - although I had planned my menu it got changed due to not being able to get to the shops, but that was fine, Carla brought over her wonderful ginger pudding and the chocolate fountain turned into a chocolate fondue, which made me realise that we bought the fondue before we got married and have never used it (15 years ago) so chocolate fountain will be forgotten about. Em can have her friends over for a chocolate fondue on her birthday instead.
J & C had brought Xavier's presents to open at our house and they got him a sit on Thomas the train which he had loads of fun with and so did Em pushing him around the house. A wonderful Christmas meal and great friends and all too soon Christmas was over! Till next year of course ...
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