A Dickens' Week-End

I had a fascinating week, filled with parties, lunches with friends, temple attendance with my husband, and lots of love from my sweet family.

The children and I were very tempted to not wake up early on Wednesday morning, after having had a very exciting birthday celebration the day before, but Elijah kept sending us texts to wake us up and get ready for school. When the kids got back, we tried to have a low-key afternoon. I did some laundry, Gillian read, and the boys played with James's birthday gifts.

On Thursday, I baked cookies with the kids, read to Charlton, cleaned the house, and visited the temple. I also enjoyed attending a friend's Christmas lunch. She served us with her mother's special Christmas dishes and silverware. The food tasted even better because we were served with the best china. When I went to bed that night, I had a dream that my mother had given my favorite childhood china--on which we served dinner every Sunday and on special occasions--to my brother. I woke up the next day and called my mother inquiring after my family heirlooms, which truth be told, I would like to have even before my mother dies. She put my mind at peace; she still had the china, and yes I could have it any time. One of my favorite memories of my childhood involves those pieces of very delicate china. I told my mother once that I absolutely loved eating with tablecloths and linen napkins and fancy china, because it made me take dinner with my family seriously. And although I don't put linen tablecloths on every meal, I do use tablecloths and napkins, albeit cotton, at every meal. As a result, our dinner time is, after reading time, the best time of the day for our family. I still get a smile on my face when I hear James beg to use the wine glasses (which we use for sparkling juices and other treats) for us to drink milk at dinner table. He reminds me so much of myself when I was young and would beg to use the special occasion tea cups for our ordinary hot chocolate drinking. I thought if I used that set of cups, the occasion would become special. And so do our daily family dinners. Although our dinners are special mostly because we are together, I still can't wait till I hold those plates in my hands.


On Friday, I took Charlton around to his siblings' school Christmas parties. We paid our visits to Jefferson's class who exchanged cookies and made an innumerable amount of Christmas crafts. Charlton didn't seem very enthusiastic when I announced to him that we had to leave and see James next. Jefferson shared some of his endless sweets with him, in order for Charlton to leave his side.

James was having a very healthy Christmas lunch with his classmates. The teacher had been smart enough to allow them to eat the healthy foods first, and have them take home the cookies and other sweets. They were allowed to eat one cookie, and James shared that with Charlton. I was praying that by the time Charlton ate Gillian's sweets as well he wouldn't be sick.


Fortunately, Gillian's class had just started lunch, so I was able to keep Charlton away from the dessert area for a while. James wasn't happy about that. I enjoyed staying at Gillian's class. They had several projects going on at the same time. They were making their own Christmas ornaments, sharing oral presentations about unique family traditions and foods, and sampling each other's prepared food. I also love these class parties, because they signal the beginning of winter break for my kids. Two straight weeks sleeping in, playing with each other, and seeing sights.

To continue celebrating our Christmas season, I took my boys on Friday night to see a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
The show was beautifully produced and the actors were just right for the part. The only thing I didn't like was the overtone of the scary elements in the story. We have read the story before, so my boys know what it is about, but it is different to see and visualize what the ghosts of Christmas looked like. Jefferson and James were scared at a few parts, but in general they seemed to really like it. James told me he wanted to come back next year. I had a very good time with my two sweet older boys.

Today, we planned to visit the Dickens Fair. We really enjoyed it last year, so we thought we would try it again. When we got there, we were greeted by long lines and big crowds, but that didn't deter us. We enjoyed a lot of fun games, shows and carols as we strolled along the streets of London during Dickens' time.

The older boys enjoyed watching fencing.

Charlton had a good view of the Punch and Judy puppet show.

Gillian had brought some money with her, so she enjoyed buying and eating roasted chestnuts, as well as purchasing a Christmas ornament.

When Gillian saw these amazing harps, she begged to sit at one of them and try it out. Her brothers followed suit. They all were having fun except for Charlton, who was too little to reach the strings with his chubby fingers.


The kids had fun waving at Queen Victoria and Prince Albert


Elijah and I enjoyed listening to beautifully-sung English traditional Christmas songs. They sure bring the Spirit, even in over-crowed places.


We made sure that we didn't end our stay without saying hello to Father Christmas, who was intrigued by my kids' Christmas lists, especially the remote control cobra and tarantula that my older boys have expressed a desire for.

This was a great production with many talented performers, delicious fish and chips, and awesome pastries.

One more week to Christmas! So many things to see and experience--and so little time. Maybe we should have Christmas all year around. It can, of course, always be Christmas in our hearts.