4 more sleeps! Help!

Only 4 more sleeps as the children would say until Christmas.  How can that be?  It was only the beginning of December a few days ago wasn't it?

Despite trying to be more organised this year I feel like I'm failing miserably.  For starters I bought my Christmas cards really early intending to send them out at the beginning of this month.  They finally got posted yesterday which meant paying extra for postage.  I was really cross with myself for that.

But it's been a busy few weeks and the kids have taken up a fair bit of time.  Last week I was helping out with Granddaughter Ella and then helping to set my DIL up in my daughter's empty house so she could isolate from my son and grandsons because she had tested positive for Covid.  Fortunately she hasn't been too unwell and by staying in the empty house she's kept hubby and kids Covid free.  However we had to gather together the basics she would need to be in the house and get it there.

We did manage to fit in a visit to one of Hubby's sisters though so that made a nice change.

But then there was a mad dash to get our house ready for my son and his family.  I had it in my head (and diary) that they were arriving last Sunday.  Fortunately we had a conversation last Thursday when it came to light they were planning to arrive late on Friday.  Cue frantic housecleaning, bed changing, shopping etc.

Of course it's lovely having extra time with them and the two grandsons.  They are with us for Christmas.

Hopefully we will have all our 3 children and their families here for Christmas Day and they will probably all stay over for Boxing day too.

I say hopefully because the dreaded Covid had mutated into a new variant which is spreading through the UK and particularly London at a very fast rate.  It seemed likely that even tougher restrictions might be imposed before Christmas but today it was announced that isn't happening.  We are still being really careful.  My DIL who has Covid will finish her 10 day isolation period on Christmas Eve.  Cutting it fine.

As of today, all of us except her have had our booster jabs.  This should protect us from being seriously ill if we catch the virus but won't necessarily stop us catching it.  We've been testing before we've seen each other and trying not to go anywhere that's busy or crowded but it is making us all a bit stir crazy.

We had fun today though as my daughter and her family came over and the 2 older grandsons, Nathan and Noah, baked gingerbread biscuits.  Not gingerbread people but gingerbread dinosaurs.

Oh and a couple of hearts!  Their decorating skills need a bit of work but they were edible!  And tomorrow we'll get to decorate the second batch when Grandson Rory will be here.

I think I might do the sausage rolls and mince pies without any help though.

It still feels like there are a million and one things on my to do list and the shopping list keeps getting added to - I have an online order that's for collection Thursday morning and a turkey order for the afternoon but I keep thinking I'm going to forget something.  If I do we will just have to go without whatever it was.

I doubt I'll get here again before Christmas so I would just like to wish you all a healthy Christmas and I hope that however you are choosing to spend the festive period you enjoy it.