2012...
( in the background Eduardo is asleep on that chair on which I draped a small patchwork quilt this afternoon...he doesn't waste any time sitting on that quilt! He seems to have radar to find quilts and knitted/crocheted rugs! Lol)
And it's all organised! Done and dusted :-)
I made 2 lots of brandy truffles this afternoon; Dan has sampled them and said they are yummy :-)
This year, 4 of our girls will be here on Christmas Eve. It's a long time since all 5 were here for Christmas. There were working holidays overseas, DsD2 and our son in law spend alternate Christmases with his family in NZ and my girls have also spent time visiting their dad in Victoria. This year, DsD3 will of course be again celebrating Christmas in Ottawa so we will Skype her, just like we did last year... 
So tomorrow we will get out the Christmas tablecloths, set the tables, find all the serving spoons etc, bring out the extra chairs, and generally get everything ready. It will be wonderful! My niece, her husband and their 2 children are coming and children always make it special. My 2 nephews are now 17 and 22...it's lovely that they still want to come along and help us celebrate.
This tradition started when I joined DH's family, as Christmas Eve had been when my family gathered to celebrate Christmas thus allowing my mum to join her friends on Christmas Day. In the early days of our new blended family, my stepdaughters used to spend Christmas Eve with their mum and grandma and see their dad on the morning of Dec 25. But after their grandma moved north to Ingham (in North Queensland) they started coming to our Christmas Eve dinner and spending Christmas Day with their mum.
2009...
Today we have been tidying the house, I have been doing some food preparation, gift wrapping and preparing the spare bedroom for our visitors for the next few days...DsD1 and Dan arrived at about 7pm tonight...they live 6 hours away in Wandoan.
Now that the girls are all grown up, organising this gathering has become much easier and less work for me! DH sent out messages to family a few weeks ago inviting them as usual, and asking them to nominate what food they would bring...
Then I made a list from collating all their answers...DH mailed that to them...
The gifts are wrapped and under the tree...DsD1 and Dan added a whole lot of gifts this evening....hmmm I wonder which one is mine! Lol.
Merry Christmas !!!
