Thoughts on Christmas Eve

It's not evening yet, but I won't be here when darkness falls, so I thought I'd take advantage of MonkeyBoy's extended nap to nip over here for a quick post.

It's been a good day, despite the absences of Chickadee (with her father until tomorrow morning) and Dean (with his daughter, again until tomorrow morning). MonkeyBoy and I spent this morning at my employer's annual children's party, which was fabulous. It's a family-owned company, and they really treat their employees like part of that family. They hosted 40 kids, providing presents and lunch for all. The party started at 10, but I was told that the short people usually show up around 9:30 and spend the first half hour making sure no work is done. I would have been reluctant to encourage such mayhem, but the president's two daughters were leading the pack and, truth be told, the productivity level in the office was pretty low to begin with.

MonkeyBoy endeared himself to all and sundry by running up when Santa called his name and flinging his arms around Santa's knees (as high as he could reach) in a joyful hug. All the other kids his age had to be dragged up by their mothers, and regarded the Man in Red (with a most magnificent beard) with trepidation or outright terror.

And, since he's been asleep for well over 2 hours now, I've got all the presents wrapped and rehidden, am dressed and coiffed (well, I brushed my hair - that's as coiffed as I get most days), and ready to roll. We're spending Christmas Eve with The Old Gang (a group of my parents' friends, their children and a couple o' grandchildren). We'll eat, sing some songs, reminisce, then head for home at a decent hour (MB will probably fall asleep in the car - I've packed his pj's, just in case). Then I'll sneak all the presents under the tree, fill the stockings, and head for bed myself. We're hosting Christmas dinner this year - just us, my parents and my brother, but this will be the first turkey I've ever cooked.

I'm looking forward to it.

Merry Christmas, one and all!