Sunday 27th December

It’s at Christmas time that extended families really come into their own. I was one of 4 children, hubby one of 3, my family have all gone on to have children of their own who now have babies. At the last count there were 25 close family members starting with my Mum. We make quite an effort to keep the family together as we have a gathering at least 4 times a year where most, if not all of the family will try to go. We go to each of our houses one of the times a year to give everyone a chance to host and more importantly the other 3 “time off” Today was hosted by my youngest sister Emma, who most importantly has the biggest indoor space, giving 25 humans and 3 dogs enough space so everyone is not on top of each other is a challenge at the best of time, but with the weather decidedly chilly no one is going outside!

Oldest sister had a eureka moment a few years ago, having struggled with the many cups of tea our family seem to drink, she suggested we club together and buy a 2nd hand Burco boiler from eBay, several years and many gatherings later, the Burco is a big hit! No more waiting for kettles to boil, no more making 10 cups of tea just because “you’re there so just do me one” each to their own, tea bags and milk are by the boiler and the water is permanently boiling. A must for every family gathering

I value days like today as it’s a time for everyone to catch up, find out what’s been going on and to see all the new babies who grow so very quickly. We have 4,under 5s at the moment and another one on the way…so far!