If we were having coffee, I would tell you to come in from out of the cold. We did have a white Christmas as my daughter wished for. But there was no packing snow – and it was too cold to go outside! Instead we stayed inside and spent wonderful family time together. The Christmas period is always a special time for me as my husband, children and I spend quality time together with no outside distractions. We are not working and have no deadlines to follow. It is a wonderful time to chill together and just be a family.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that on Christmas Eve I made a simple supper. My family love spaghettini with a simple basic tomato sauce. It normally takes me about 30 – 45 minutes to make from scratch. After eating we moved to the sofa to commence our annual tradition. This year my daughters are old enough to watch films containing sexual and violent content. As a result, we decided to watch Game of Thrones. I had bought the seasons we were missing, and we began our watch-fest from Season 1.  Rewatching the first seasons has not only allowed my daughters to watch from the beginning, but has also helped us remember the finer details of the story.

Christmas Day shone brightly – even though it was cold outside. As usual, I was the first one up. I do not mind this as I take the time to settle myself on the sofa and read a little after placing the gifts under the tree. When everyone was awake, we opened our gifts. We took our time and, even though there are only 5 of us, opening gifts took over 2 hours. We love this time together as we laugh, admire our gifts, and thank one another for the thoughtful things we have made or bought for each other.

Our gift opening is always followed by brunch then tea in front of the TV. In the late afternoon we stopped watching our show as I began cooking dinner and the family showered and dressed. My nephew always comes over for an early dinner and to spend some time with us. Dinner was what I usually make on Christmas Day – roast chicken, fried rice, and vegetables. After supper and a dessert of strawberries, whipped cream, and ice-cream, we took out Trivial Pursuit.

My eldest daughter’s Christmas wish this year was to play a board game. For the family this Christmas, I had decided to buy one of my favourite board games – Trivial Pursuit. When at university, I used to play this game often with my friends. The memories of these times were in my mind when I picked up the game while Christmas shopping. I had hoped my family would love the game as much as I did. After dinner on Christmas Day, we opened up the new game and played. And we had so much fun! We guessed, we laughed, we were stunned by answers, and we all enjoyed the game – even my husband who is not much of a board games person. I think this game will come out of the closet often.

Boxing Day, the 26th December, dawned and we stepped out to do some shopping. The wind chill was -26c and the wind burned our cheeks. We walked briskly to our destinations and noticed that there were not many people out on the street. The snow cracked beneath our feet as we walked and we kept our faces down. My husband did not get what he wanted (the badminton racket he had been eyeing was bought by someone else who got there before him!) but I found what I needed: two – not one – pairs. of winter boots.  One pair is perfect for snowy and slushy days; the other is good for cold days that are snow-free. My girls found some things that they wanted as well – and we could not resist a trip to the book store. A good day shopping ended with us sitting on the sofa sipping warm drinks and watching our TV series.

The final highlight of the week was my birthday. I began the day with a visit to the hairdresser. I decided to spoil myself and colour my hair. The hairdresser suggested highlights and I went for it. My hair looks a little different now and it is something that I still need to get used to. My family loved my hair and I asked for a picture to be taken at the restaurant we went to for lunch. Eating out on my birthday is another annual family tradition – and one that I love. It does make the day special especially as we do not go out too often. After our meal, we walked about the mall for a while. We could not stroll a bit outside as we usually do because the temperatures were too low. We did not mind as we wanted to get back home, have some tea, and watch more Game of Thrones.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I have had a wonderful week. I have enjoyed the family time and the break from the responsibilities of work. Today I have started getting back into my routine with a Zumba class. Slowly over the next week, I will get back into the rest of my routine – and of course finish watching our chosen TV series for this break.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you to stay warm and enjoy any celebrations you may be planning for the New Year.

What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2017

(This post is linked to Eclectic Alli and the Weekend Coffee Share)