The house has gone all quiet today after a busy happy weekend with family visiting and then a party for residents and meeting house habitues last night. Though it was not a fancy dress party, one guest turned up in full Father Chritmas outfit and another came dressed as an elf with stripy tights and a pointy hat. Both of them got very hot as we had a roaring log fire, but it made it very jolly and four children came including a beautiful baby.
There seemed to be enormous quantities of food everywhere but I thankfully find it has magically been consumed today, (even the huge trifle made by wonderful J as usual), and the kitchen is peaceful and tidy again.
The frenzy of buying Things and wrapping them up is almost over. I tend to buy lots of what Joyce Grenfell called `Useful and Acceptable Gifts` and then try to match them up to people but it doesn`t always work, some of them have been lurking in a drawer for years. I always think of the John Betjeman poem: "No loving fingers tying strings/around those tissued fripperies/the sweet and silly Christmas things/ bath salts and inexpensive scent/ And hideous tie so kindly meant" I have never relly got the hang of sellotape so my presents always look lumpy.