Freecycle Christmas 08 (S)

We had an amazing Christmas down in Hampshire with the whole Winter family. Richard, Jane, Johanna, John and Rudy all flew across the pond to join Matt, Anna, Joseph, Eliza, Vivi, Triona and the 3 of us. We had a splendid time together with lots of yummy meals, crisp walks in perfect sub-zero winter weather, a massive bonfire and general family-togetherness. Sam missed his family in Oz (plus new nephew David Nicholas born on Christmas day) but was treated with a visit from the Baker Street Joneses.

We loved having so much time with all of the family, each of whom we love dearly.

We had a Freecycle Christmas this year. All of our gifts were either homemade or from our own belongings; driven by a combination of credit-crunch thriftiness (being frugalistas) and wanting to cut down on consumption. It brought a deeper personal element to gift-giving as well as a bit of nervousness! Overall it was a huge success.

On New Year's eve we celebrated with lots of cousins who came to visit, including newly engaged Kirsten and Tom.

We were very lucky to be able to take over Anna's Grandfather's house for the full 2 weeks. This gave us plenty of room, with a huge dining table for all of us to fit around, big fireplaces to warm our toes and sit by playing games or chatting, and lovely grounds to get some air..


Mealtimes


Vivi & Zach


Eliza & Rudy


Christmas day


Fun with Papa & Gran


Out and about


Baker St Joneses come to visit


New Year's eve gathering


The group shots



View Larger Map