The Magic of Christmas, and an Unexplainable Fear of Beards.

So let me get one thing straight; I love Christmas. I am one of those annoying people that starts counting down to Christmas in September, I can’t help it. In fact, I can’t even really explain why I get so unbelievably excited about Christmas.

It could be the copious amounts of beer and wine you get to drink, the Christmas dinner (let’s face it a roast with extra’s is one of the best meals on earth) or the fact that it becomes acceptable to exist on a diet of mince pies, turkey trimmings and chocolate whilst refusing to get changed out of pyjamas anytime before 2 p.m.

But really it is the quality family time that I love and this year was particularly special as it was LT’s first Christmas.

LT was as excited as Daddy on Christmas Day!

We didn’t want to go overboard with presents for LT as she is still so young that she will happily play with a remote control or her mum’s slipper over an expensive toy or game.

We got her an electronic drum to bang and a huge sensory ball as she is obsessed with her other smaller light-up bouncy ball.

Nonna and Pops got her some lovely toys and books all of which were second-hand which we were pleased with too as we like to recycle, reuse and buy second hand wherever we can.

One of the highlights though was a Trunki which she got from her Auntie Faye and Uncle Colin. This is a great present and we are so looking forward to letting her use it when we go on holiday in May. She got the ladybird design which is a really nice bright red with black spots.

The Christmas dinner went really well. I cooked it to our usual plan which you can check out in our Blended Parent Network guest post here.

The highlight had to be the roast potatoes which I managed to get just right this year, crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside; bliss. I also discovered a great twist to the gravy which was to add a kick with some chilli.

I watched Jamie Oliver doing his Christmas dinner programme and he put a chilli in the cavity of the turkey. I followed suit but the chilli fell out and into the layer of vegetables that I had the turkey resting on. This layer of vegetables was then used to make the gravy and we just left the chilli in. It was a bit too hot to handle at first but I calmed it down with a few spoonfuls of cranberry sauce and it ended up tasting amazing!

It was a time of discovery for us as a family; LT discovered the magic of present unwrapping (or watching us unwrap), she also discovered that she can crawl which was amazing to watch (if not a tad nerve racking) and we as her parents discovered that she has an unexplainable fear of men with beards.

You are probably thinking that we took her to see father Christmas and she balled her eyes out? No, we decided not to take her this year as she is still so small she probably would not have understood or even grasped what was going on in the slightest. The discovery of the beard fear was far more awkward.

We visited very close friends of ours on Christmas eve as they were desperate to give LT her presents and we were overdue catching up with them. My friend who is also LT’s godfather has a beard; it is a cool and well kept beard and he wears it well. We walked into their front room and LT suddenly burst into tears, but this was not the kind of crying that she does when she is hungry or a bit irritable this was full on crying with proper tears and the blotchy red cheeks that she gets when she is really upset.

It was heartbreaking as LT’s godfather dotes on her and the last thing we would want is for her to get upset just by looking at his beard. Luckily all was well in the end and he got a good old cuddle with her in the coffee shop later.

The next episode of the beard fear came later that day when we went to Lorna’s parents for a family get together. Another set of very close friends of ours were there and again the beard set her off. We were sort of thinking that it might have been due to her experiencing new situations with different people in them and that she might of just been a bit tired.

This theory was thrown out of the window and the unexplainable beard fear was finally confirmed when we visited some family again the day after boxing day and one of Lorna’s cousin’s husband’s was sporting a particularly long and bushy beard. LT took one look at him and burst right into uncontrollable tears again.

It really was a strange thing for us to experience as other than a bit of a moan and a cry if she is tired or hungry she has never got really upset like that and she is normally really good in social situations with lots of people so it threw us a bit.

I am just hoping that this is a phase that passes, especially in time for next Christmas when we most definitely will take her to see father Christmas. Next Christmas is 362 days away if you were wondering, oh did I say I started counting down in September?

Until next time…..

Be excellent to each other.

The Taylors xxx

Post by Daddy.