Firstly an apology for not being in touch with you wonderful people for a while but having bored you all before about my family's traditional Christmas programme, this year, the first since my Grandmother died, the family decided to get together at the folks house in France (again I apologise as I know I have bored you about this place......but it is amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!)
The plan was that on Christmas eve eve....okay the 23rd my Sister and I would travel down to Bordeaux from Hull, picking up her BF on the way, meeting up with my lil Sister, her husband and lil Niece on route somewhere in France to arrive at Barie early on Christmas eve.
So after the usual work routine.....up at 5 and on the train to Manchester and back it was time to drive about 986 miles South, not helped by what was supposed to be the worst winter weather "EVER" (it really wasn't that bad at all!) and airport closures causing a 3 hour delay on the Euro Tunnel (man that is the weirdest experience ever.....to sit in a stationary car, whilst feeling definite forward motion, and seeing your passenger get out and walk away from the car at what seems a huge speed!) But after 22 hours of continuous travelling, split between my Sister and I (well mainly me.....have to do the whole manly thing of taking control!) the family was pretty much all together, with friends from the neighbourhood.
Christmas and New Year were fantastic, although strange without my Grandmother although we still tried to maintain our Christmas traditions. Getting up for stockings, followed by breakfast and then presents and it was fantastic to see the excitement in the Lil niece's eyes when she saw the soot boot prints by the chimney, the half eaten carrot and the piles of presents.
To commemorate my Grandmother and all that she meant to all of us, we set off Chinese lanterns on the stroke of midnight on New Year's eve, taking our wishes to her and to remind her that we were all thinking of her still.
Aww I love the boot prints! I'll have to remember to leave some soot for Santa to step in next year ;-)
ReplyDeleteSetting off the chinese lanterns for your grandmother is a beautiful way to let her see how much she's missed. A whole raft of them were set off in Hull - I assume down at the official celebrations on New Year - and we watched them all floating over our house, was really a wonderful sight.
Happy New Year hun, hope it is a good one for you!
what a great way to bring in the year! my grandma has been gone for 2 christmas's now --actually her birthday was 1/1:))...so i feel where you are, but what a wonderful tradition of chinese lanterns...
ReplyDeletebut christmas carrots? here we leave cookies and chocolate--what santa loves best--well that and a drink possibly :))
happy 2011! xoxo
Lovely post x
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your lovely comments....the lanterns were a really special moment (although it did take us a little while to realise that you didn't have to balance tea-lights on the cardboard square, but rather set fire to the cardboard! - [our first time so some justification :) ]
ReplyDeleteEmily - I'm sorry to hear about your Grandma, but it was really strange as there were several occasions throughout Christmas when I felt that she was watching over our shoulder, just to make sure that we were boiling the sprouts to death properly :) The carrot was for Rudolph :)