The Yule Blog 2008... Or...The cleverness of FC

Before I help Father Christmas each year, I always have a little tot up of what has been spent on each child. It is of course imperative that each child has the same spent on them. This is however quite a challenge, as I never actually count either numbers of presents or total up monies spent as I go along. So, come Christmas Eve it would of course be too late if it were wrong.

This though is when I realise that there is a Father Christmas. For every year, including this one, miraculously we have the same number of presents per child and the same amount spent almost to the penny.

"Oh the cleverness of me," from Peter Pan springs to mind: it being the play that my mother used to take me to see every Christmas when I was little. But, just like Peter Pan, I somehow think that it is not me, but my magical friend FC who is responsible. Hubby is not really involved too closely on the present front, so it isn't him. It is just pure magic. It's the sort of magic that happens in families. Like the magic that means that by some strange coincidence if you do a certain mathematical exercise with our children's DOBS, then they all add up to 27. And it's only in our family that that happens...

Meanwhile, we have seven children to entertain this Christmas. (Yes that's right, seven. We gained two that we are fostering, just last week.Two boys from Afghanistan.) Presents have all been dispatched to FC; and the children are nearly all in bed (Please GO soon kids! I need to go to bed myself, and I CAN'T until you do... if you get my gist.)

The thing is, with little or next to no English available, and no former understanding of western culture, let alone Father Christmas, how do you explain to the newbies that they need to go to bed now, otherwise, Christmas cannot happen as it should? One of the said guests is currently sitting at at Hubby's laptop with headphones on, singing along to Indian music in a voice that if it were based on volume it might just win him the Afghan version of the X Factor. Ever the tactful, Sensible, not wanting to draw attention to herself, has just sent me a text asking me to ask him if he could perhaps sing a little more quietly.... as he is keeping her awake.... Thanks Sensible....

In the meantime, just before I do some pigeon English explanations of why my new guests really should go to bed, I wish you all a very merry and very lovely Christmas.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!