Christmas with family again

After a year of Christmas without or with hardly any family, we could gather again for the holidays...although I feared that the week before the government would announce another lockdown in fear of the upcoming omicron variant wave.  But no, private gatherings didn't have a limited number although we were strongly recommended to gather as few as possible people. 

I must admit that I didn't feel too comfortable to plan too much for the holidays and yet I did not want to disappoint my mother or my mother-in-law who'd really love to see some of their children together again after all that time.  

And so we drove to the west of the country with our suitcase, as we'd profit from an overnight stay in a B&B to avoid nightly driving in the winter. The last times we had celebrated at our parental homes our fathers were still at home respectively in 2018 and 2019.  Catering had been ordered twice to take way the traditional cooking stress and indeed the meals were a lot more chill than some other years, which was welcoming.

Christmas Eve with my in-law family. 

Of course there were gifts

I got a live demo by my cousin with the amazing Dyson brushing blow dryer that managed to give my hair some volume

A night at a farm B&B 

After  just a few minutes drive, we could settle in 2 spacious rooms in the B&B.  Very lovely except that a strange bed with unknown mattress and pillows never sleeps that well on a first night. 

Christmas lunch at my mom's

There were presents and too much food again. And a lot of smiling faces.