Christmas 2018

We stayed local in Prestwood for the Christmas holidays this year.  It was filled with board games and lots of family time, hill walking and trips into London.  

The kids both received LEGO advent calendars and enjoyed opening them each morning after they spied out where the elfs on the shelf had moved the night before. 

We bought a real fir tree for the first time and enjoyed decorating it with garlands of cranberries and Claire's LEGO ornaments she built from her advent calendar. 

Both Callum and Claire performed in their school Nativity play as well as the Nativity at our church on Christmas Eve. Callum had a third opportunity to shine in his Cub Scouts nativity play which was a bit more informal and cheeky, filled with funny jokes and puns. 

Laura and I celebrated our twelfth anniversary and were able to make a trip into London on Saturday thanks to our new friends the Guys offering to watch them. We caught the train into town for the first time out of Great Missenden and made our way to Leicester Square and bought discounted theatre tickets to see 'School of Rock'.  We dipped into Five Guys burger joint for a quick bite before the show as we walked a few blocks in the rain. 

The show was excellent and the seats were great and at a great price.  The children in the show were actors as well as musicians and totally rocked out with real instruments on stage.  After the show, we made our way across town to catch the train back.  Right before the station we popped into a Palestinian restaurant and had an excellent Mediterranean meal overlooking a busy street from the second floor. 

The week before Christmas we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner with our neighborhood small group at Iain and Briony's house down the street.  We had all the fixings of a traditional British Christmas dinner to include a big turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes, parsnips, peas and carrots and Brussel sprouts. Afterwards, we played a new version of Catch Phrase and chatted in the lounge. 

With the kids out of school for Christmas Holidays, we ventured into London again and took the kids to Shrek's adventure and the Sea Life Aquarium, both attractions covered by our Merlin Pass.  Shrek's adventure was a very fun interactive journey with live actors throughout.  The kids loved it.  Afterwards we gazed at Christmas lights on Oxford and Regent Street and browsed through a famous toy store called Hamley's. 

Christmas day was quiet and spent at our house.  Laura fixed her traditional five star breakfast casserole and then a big honey ham for dinner.  Callum's big gifts were Hobbit Legos and the Axis and Allies board game.  Claire received a karaoke machine and accessories for her American Girl doll.  

The next day, Boxing Day, we drove into London in the afternoon so Laura and Claire could attend Disney on Ice.  They thoroughly enjoyed the performance while Cal and Tyler played video games at the bowling alley. 

The rest of the week was spent playing copious amounts of board games, some lego building and taking sporadic hikes in the local area.  Callum and Tyler were locked in an epic one week battle for World War II supremacy that took at least a couple hours each day.  Other new favourite games included Exploding Kittens, Carcasonne and Ticket to Ride Junior. 

On New Year's Eve, we hopped over to Aylesbury to see the local Pantomine plan of Peter Pan at their Waterside Theatre.  We were in the nose bleed seats at the very back, but had a fantastic time.  The kids loved the gags and there were plenty of jokes for the parents as well.

 The last day of the kids' break we endured a chilly day at Chessington riding a few rollercoasters and enjoyed the zoo as well before heading home.  

With the kids back at school, Tyler still had a few days off from work.  The first day he and Laura took a lovely walk near Henley-on-Thames and enjoyed a fine Mediterranean meal in town. 

 The next day we ventured into London to visit Richmond.  Tyler enjoyed visiting about 25 years after he had first travelled to England with his parents as a boy and stayed at the Petersham Hotel.  

 

We enjoyed a brisk morning walk along the Thames and then tea in their restaurant with the famous view overlooking the Thames. We had a delightful tour of the National Trust property Ham House that lay a half mile down the river. Another great 'date day' together pinching ourselves at our good fortune of living in England.