Tag: Christmas

Family

Christmas is a time to be with the ones you love. At least, that’s what all the movies and sentimental WhatsApp messages everyone keeps sending me tell me, so it must be true.

Anyway, my work includes some amount of travel, and every time the hardest part is saying goodbye to the Missus and the Minion. I usually go drop them off at the in-laws, so I know they’re not alone at home and that both sets of grandparents are close by to help out in a crisis.

But it doesn’t change the fact that I miss them like crazy, and that from the moment I wave goodbye to them before going through airport security I’m aching to get back to them.

My trip to Orlando this September was no exception, and was probably worse – how can one not dwell on family if you’re literally across the road from Disney Springs? How can I walk past a Princess Boutique and not want to take my little girl there, or visit Diagon Alley and not wish I could apparate my wife, who is as much a fan as I am, there with me?

Then I found the Lego store in Disney Springs, and decided to find my family…

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Have a very Merry TARDIS Christmas

The year wouldn’t be complete without another Doctor Who themed item to add to my collection. And once again the wife didn’t disappoint:

tardis-piggy-bank

My Christmas present? A home-made TARDIS piggy bank. Still not bigger on the inside, and I didn’t get it stuffed full of cash, but it was filled with a sugary treat a historic Doctor is known to have been very fond of. Can you guess what it is?

We spent Christmas on our own this year. It’s Elizabeth’s first Christmas, our last Christmas in our current home (we’re planning a move next year, but more to come on that later) and we realised we’ve never had a Christmas at home since we were married. It was nice, just celebrating the day quietly in our own way.

I’d actually meant to write something about Christmas this year, but time got awy from me. There are days I really wish I had an actual TARDIS, so I can go back and get to the things I missed the first time around. But then, if I had a real TARDIS I’d probably forget all about my own past with an entire universe to explore, so…

How was your Christmas, those of you who celebrate it? Did you spend it on your own? with friends, family, a time-traveling madman in a blue box? Any significant presents you’d like to share? It doesn’t need to be TARDIS-related 😉

However you spent your day, from us Kokkies I wish you all the good this day represents to us, and may the last few days of 2016 represent the best of this year, or at the very least pass without incident 🙂

Some Christmas goodies

As I’ve said before, I enjoy giving people gifts for Christmas. There’s just something about finding that perfect gift for someone, and seeing their face light up when they open it. I like giving presents, but I also like getting them, and this year had a few good ones.

Grown-ups can’t play with Legos anymore. (Okay, we can, but people frown on it. Also, they’re so expensive I can never justify buying them for myself. I can’t wait till Squishy is old enough that I can buy him or her Legos so I can play with them.)

Lucky for me, my family has discovered Nano Blocks. They’re like Legos, but less than a quarter in size, meaning they’re way too delicate for clumsy kid fingers to play with. They’re adult ~~toys~~…ahem…collectibles.

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A good woman is hard to find…

“…and worth far more than diamonds.” (Proverbs 31:10, The Message)

No, we’re not interrupting regular programming for discussing passages from the Bible. I’ve just been thinking about that passage as I appear to have one of those. A good woman, that is. In fact, King Solomon goes on to say, “She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing.” (Proverbs 31:13, The Message) That’s my wife exactly.

Confused? Allow me to elaborate:

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On Christmas Presents

I love giving Christmas presents. I love searching for that one thing that I know will make my loved one’s heart beat a little faster when he or she opens it. I love wrapping them, already anticipating watching the reaction on their faces as they open it, the complete surprise mingled with profound satisfaction at getting something they truly appreciate.

Finding those gifts aren’t easy, though, as it requires one knowing the gift recipient very well along with actually finding the gift itself, which usually involves more than a fair amount of luck and the appropriate budgetary allowances. With the wife, at least, I have an unbroken record thus far of gifts that either make her squeal with delight or stare at me in dumbfounded silence each year. That makes me feel good. Continue reading “On Christmas Presents” →