A December to Remember

Well what a month, I have never had a December so full of plans and I won’t lie I wont be doing it again. It’s involved several trips to London, family gatherings, birthdays and Christmas meals.

It actually all started on the 27^th of November, John and myself went down to London to Friends Festive which for those who don’t know it’s the sitcom TV show Friends set, all dressed up for Christmas. As a huge friends fan it was so much fun and it was lovely to be out as a couple with no stress of children but that fun was to come later on. I would definitely recommend Friends fest for anyone who is a fan of the show.

Saturday 4^th was also shockingly child free and we were able to go out with friends for drinks, despite the rise in covid cases the city centre was very busy and it was a lovely evening out. Sunday 5^th and it was back to London for River Dance with my daughter and parents. We had our covid passes ready and at this point were not required to wear masks inside, it was an absolutely fantastic show and the dancers were outstanding. There was even a proposal at the end, which was super special. After the show we needed dinner, we decided to head to Piccadilly Circus we spent around an hour and a half walking round trying to find somewhere to eat so note to self, always book a restaurant when going to London in December.

The following Saturday was Johns eldest 8^th birthday day out, he had already had a small party the previous weekend so we decided an exciting trip to London would be great fun for all three of them. He’s very into space and planets so where better to go then the Science Museum. I also booked them onto the Typhoon experience that they all enjoyed without being sick. I would definitely suggest arriving early if you don’t like crowds, as it definitely got busier as we were there. They were all treated to a toy from the gift shop but obviously they wanted everything. We went for a walk down to Harrods in the hope the Christmas shop would impress but this year it was definitely lacking and the amount of people was too much. Next stop was Old Bond street to see if we can get an insta worthy shot of the Christmas lights with the kids but that failed as everyone else thought the same.

Next stop dinner, after all the walking round that was an achievement especially for John’s youngest who didn’t complain once. We were booked in to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co a cheesy restaurant paying homage to Forrest Gump. The food was great and quick service, the drinks however seemed to take forever to arrive but overall pretty good for a kids birthday meal.

I had finally made it to the last week of term, it was a struggle and finding out that we are having staggered starts in January to do testing of students was not the best thing to hear. Half term two ended and it felt like freedom. Unfortunately my department work do was cancelled due to the extreme rise in cases, but I still had my annual family Christmas gathering, which hasn’t happened since 2019. It was amazing to see all my family including all my cousins and their partners; Nala got to meet Luna and was living her best life. We finally hit the run up to Christmas, the last minute shopping, and the Christmas dinner prep. Everything was looking great it was my first Christmas dinner that I had ever done and thankfully it went down a treat. I had never seen the kids so happy and they were thrilled with what they received.

We spent Boxing Day with my parents and enjoyed more food then things finally calmed down we were able to chill out and just spend time with each other. By this point we had eaten enough food to feed a small army, both John and myself also got our booster shots in the hope that 2022 would be more normal. Our New Years Eve was a relaxed affair with some fireworks, sparklers and champagne for the adults.