Christmas

On Christmas Eve we had nothing planned, so we decided to go see Santa. The line was enormous! Brian and I took turns walking Iain around the mall so he didn't have to wait in line, hoping to keep him in a good mood. No such luck. He started crying at the sight of the first elf! She tried to say hello and paint Iain's face, but he wanted nothing to do with any of it. Not the face paint, not the elf, not the grotto, and not Father Christmas! He did think that the reindeer were interesting, but that was before the elf incident.


Santa was very nice, but Iain was cutting a big fit. This was the closest he got to sitting on Santa's knee. He didn't even want the present Santa gave him! So we stood in line for nearly two hours to see Father Christmas for approximately.00467 seconds. Lesson learned!


After that Iain had a nice long nap and we drove to Peacehaven and walked along the clifftops. It was a short walk because it was cold and windy!




Iain thinks playing outside is much better than scary old Santa Claus!


After Iain went to bed, I finished wrapping the gifts and arranged them under the tree. I love that part!
Iain didn't know what to think about all the presents the next morning. I think he was still a little sleepy! He headed straight for the biggest present first, which was a little child sized armchair from Mama and Papa.

Iain and Mama reading their new books!


After we opened presents we went to church and then had Christmas dinner at our Phil and Maria's house. It was a huge spread and it was so nice to spend the day with friends.



The next day was Boxing Day and we went for a nice long walk around the Arlington Reservoir. There were lots of birds living there, and lots of dogs out for exercise, both of which Iain enjoyed pointing out. Sometimes he even says "dah" for dog, but he mostly just points.


After our walk we had a really great lunch at a pub on the coast that I've wanted to try for a awhile. We sat right next to the crackling fire and warmed up.


So it was a nice Christmas, even though we missed our families. For New Year's Eve we hung out at our friend Christina's flat playing games and watching Johnny English with our friend Ann. At midnight all of Brighton went crazy. Church bells pealed, fireworks went off, and people were singing and shouting with all their might. We had a front row seat on all of this from the flat, which is op the top floor of a house on a very high hill. It was an awesome sight.