A Very English Christmas

Cheerio! It's almost Christmas and the weather outside is frightful.

Father Christmas visited our cul-de-sac on his sleigh this week. The Rotary Club float goes around from neighborhood to neighborhood, playing Christmas music and Father Christmas hands out candy to all the children. He looks suspiciously like our Santa, but speaks with an English accent.

We were just sitting to dinner when there was a knock at the door and a man with a tin for donations told us that Fr. Christmas was on his way. The children ran out the door, coatless and shoeless, to see him. One of the neighbor children, Sam, had been just ready for his bath, so his Mum was carrying him, shirtless and shoesless (which made me feel way better about my kids).

Last Friday, we had a Christmas Tree Decorating Party. We invited folks from Don's office for an Open House, to start at 7 p.m. My worst fears were realized when there was a knock on the door at ten till seven, and I opened it to find a line of single-file people, all the way across our front driveway and out the gate, then turning down the sidewalk. There were about 20 people, all who showed up at the same time. Apparently, the bus that picks them up at work and takes them home to the hotel at night dropped them at our house, instead. The party arrived.

I began greeting people as they filed in the house, taking their coats and smiling. By the time I got to the fifth person, I realized I didn't recognize a soul. I got a little nervous. I know MOST of the people who work with Don, AND we went to that Christmas Party where I at least SAW everyone. But these people were total strangers. Finally, when I got to guest #7, I recognized a face, and everyone from there on. They must have stacked the deck to throw me off kilter.

At 9:00, a minibus showed back up and everyone said a quick good-bye and headed out the door - very busy and very crowded, but ended all too early. Thank goodness, we had also invited some friends of ours that we met over here, who showed up about 8:30, we they stayed and we had a wonderful time.

Several people brought ornaments for our lovely little tree and everyone seemed to bring presents for the children. They were in Seventh Heaven. I made Hot Buttered Rum and Hot Spiced Cider and had sodas on hand, NONE of which got drunk (but my Hot Buttered Rum's almost all gone).

We've had a low-key week, getting last minute stuff done for Christmas. Today, I'm taking the children in Warrington. They've set up an ice skating rink in Town Centre. We'll meet Don there for dinner and then go shopping. I had to stop at the library for recipes for Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie - the little things you take for granted at home. I'm just hopeful I can find all the ingredients I need.

Last year, we started a new tradition with the children. I've always wanted to have a Christmas Eve meal tradition, and last year we had fondue. It was a huge hit and the children definately want to continue it, but I wasn't sure I could pull it off over here. I was talking with a friend from church, Jill (the lady who's invited us over on Christmas Eve night), and her husband asked if I'd like to borrow a fondue pot. That evening, at the Festival of Carols at church, they brought the fondue pot and forks, the fuel for it, and a recipe so we can have our fondue. It was very kind.

When we come home, I'm going to miss 'single cream' and 'double cream'. Deanna's already bemoaning the loss of her plentiful gouda cheese, and the boys are upset about not being able to get toffee yogurt at home. We have fallen in love with England.

We found out you have to have a TV license to play a TV. Don bought a license - £350 for a year - a staggering $700 just to be able to watch TV in your home. The Company's paying for our license, since we'll only be using it for 6 weeks.

We're going to London for 5 days after Christmas. We were hoping to get to Paris, also, but the trainride was going to cost £850, which seemed a little steep for 3 days in Paris. So, we'll have to save up our frequent flier miles and plan a trip to mainland Europe soon.

We're hoping to get to Scotland in January but don't have any plans yet.

Don got me a pay-as-you-go cellphone, so I can make limited calls. Daytime calls (before 7:30 p.m.) cost 30p a minute (60 cents) and they charge by the second. Add to that the cost of the calling card for International use and it's fairly expensive. BUT (the big but) I've qualified this week for free weekend calls and my calling card is offerring free calls to the U.S. on Saturday between noon and midnight our time (7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Georgia time), so I plan on spending the entire day on the phone.

I can't figure out how to e-mail from the library - it's very difficult to get on bellsouth from over here - so I'm afraid I can't easily send notes to all my friends. This will have to suffice.

Mark and Rachel, thanks for the comments on my last post. It's wonderful to hear from our friends at home. Rach, I sure miss you and the boys.

Donovan's first birthday is Christmas. We sure are missing him. But Deanna says it's time to sign off now and head to the bus stop, so Merry Christmas to all out there in Bloggerland.

Anne, Kelly, Andree (thanks for the thoughtful Christmas card - we got a package from Michelle Scott, also, with a card, an ornament for Deanna, and gifts for the boys), Katharine, Becky, Heather, Rach, Sherrie, Karen, the Francis', Ken, and all my beloved family - MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Doughty's in Jolly ol' England. We love all of you and miss you.