Our third upside-down Christmas Day was a very relaxed affair; the first half spent at home and the second half at Emma & Dan's, along with some of Emma's family over from the UK and Helen and Paul (Emma met them when she worked in the physio dept but, in the small world we live in, Helen also lived with my sister, Katy, when they were at uni in Cardiff!).
Matthew did seem to enjoy opening his presents and was more intrigued with his new toys than I expected (lots of people told me he'd only be interested in the wrapping paper). It took us a while to open them all because so much of a day is eating and sleeping! And there are more presents to come because we are still waiting for parcels from the UK (I feel very sorry for Elisabeth who, having posted a parcel surface mail last year which didn't arrive 'til mid-January, decided this year to post it air mail and it still didn't arrive on time) - so Christmas will be an extended affair this year.
Christmas food was very different with a whole salmon (expertly barbecued by Dan), cold ham (which honestly could have fed an army) and lovely salads and bread. We also had a chocolate truffle cake for Christmas cake which was amazing! We ate outside, though in typical English style; actually it was quite chilly but we had to eat out because we could and it should have been warm!

The one frustration of the day (which continued into Boxing Day) was difficulty with technology in trying to make contact with family at home. When we could get through on the phone, after several attempts, the connection only lasted a few seconds. The internet was not much better and when we tried to use the webcam it crashed.

The rest of the week has been very quiet and relaxing. The weather has been much warmer so we've been for a picnic and walks and generally enjoyed time to read and play with our new toys (and that's not just Matthew!).