Set the table

Today

Christmas went with a swing, as usual. During the preceding few days people would say "and are you all ready for Christmas?" And we'd say "getting there!". Friends described how they'd bought the turkey, made the stuffing. We popped in to drop off cards and found them all hard at work: putting up the tree and decorations, tidying the house for visitors, preparing food, stocking freezers.

On Christmas morning, once we'd opened stockings, we all got cracking. Paul vacuumed floors, laid the fire, sorted out crockery, cutlery, glasses. Lizzie made Dauphinoise & roast potatoes, and helped me in making a Tiramisu.

I made the main courses, kept the kitchen tidy. Becky did the vegetables and tidied up the candles on the tree. Niece Ruth did the rubbish bins and put out tea lights. The dishwasher kept pace with the tide of pots & pans.

When all was done, we went and had a wonderful feast.

"It's a just like "A Christmas Carol" at the Cratchitts." I said. "Everyone had their duties".

In My Day

When I was a child, Christmas morning in our household was basically devoted to domestic work. After breakfast (which was always a bit on the scrappy, get-it-yourself side) we all had our duties. The fires would be laid (Daddy and Christopher's job). The last bits of Lametta were hung on the tree. The table was laid with a white cloth hung with ribbons. The final vegetables were prepared, (How I hated the filthy job of doing the chestnuts - but loved to eat them later), the Turkey tested and prodded, the ham put on to boil.

We tried to keep on top of the dirty washing up in our minuscule kitchen. (However did we produce such a feast? We barely had two feet of work surface.) The gifts were all arranged in the other room. During the meal we would each in turn wash up the used plates etc from the course we'd just eaten and dry up the previous lot. That way the work was all pretty well done by the time dinner was over.

Then Daddy and someone would collect David from St Paul's and the feasting would start at about 3.00 pm. after we'd finished the food would be left for us to pick at at will over the next two days. And we'd all be ready for revelling, gift opening, singing and games until bedtime.

Somehow, the hard work in preparing the celebration gave point and extra relish to the actual feast.

And I'd like to keep it that way.