After a Christmas breakfast of scrambled eggs (Dave’s favourite), we exchanged presents. I was happy to find lots of Cadbury’s and Thornton’s in my stocking – my family know me well. Dave and I had lots of well chosen travel gifts, including a device which relieves the pain of bites and stings by delivering a small electric shock; Dave is convinced my mum is trying to bump him off!

Whilst touring the Champagne region of France, I purchased a vintage bottle of Veuve-Cliquot champers, to be consumed on Christmas Day. To do it justice we packed 5 champagne flutes and walked to the beach, where we sat in the sun and the brave amongst us paddled in the sea. Perfect!

Lunch was a modern twist on the traditional turkey (thanks to mum for cooking), and we ate outside on the patio. Too stuffed to walk, we drove to a local hotel by the beach for after dinner coffees, then watched The Life of Brian (dad’s Xmas present) and fell asleep in front of Love Actually.

We had a wonderful day and I really appreciate H, mum and dad giving up their traditional Xmas to visit us. Thanks for coming, and especially for filling your suitcases with everything from cranberries to board games to make the day perfect.

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