Last year, being the first without Ian, and with my son in New Zealand, my older daughter and her husband still came over for the usual after breakfast present ritual with me and Ruth. The possible poignancy of this was cut short by her remembering (it being the first one she'd cooked) that she had just put the turkey in with the giblets still in the neck. Cue mad dash over there to sort it out. We had just about got into the present business again, when Alex skyped from the other side of the world, and it all became a bit of a rush after that, as we were going over to my daughter's and meeting up with her in-laws for the meal.
In the evening, they came round again and we had neighbours round to play stupid board games, and much was drunk.

This year is an odd one. Alex is still in NZ (with Adebisi and my little granddaughter), but my older daughter has her first baby due on 11th December, so I am planning to cook a meal here, and just go over to visit and bring presents, perhaps later in the afternoon. However, I still don't know if it will be just me and Ruth at home, or her boyfriend as well.

Next year I hope to go to NZ and I won't probably bother putting a tree up, as I will go mid-December, and come back probably just around New Year.

Andrea