Emilia's First Christmas

Three weeks in Italy went by way too fast and we are now back in London. The whole time there was simply amazing and of course Christmas was even more magical this year thanks to Emilia. 

In Italy we celebrate Christmas three times: we start with a fish dinner on Christmas Eve, we go on with a lunch-feast on Christmas day, and we close the festivities with another big lunch on the 26th. As always, we spent the first two days at my parents' and the 26th at my uncle Massimiliano's.

This year our good friends Ilaria and Cristian joined us for the 24th. They came a little bit early to play with Emilia; however, she fell asleep early that night! And she stayed asleep even when passed from one person to another, barely opening her eyes every now and then. 

 

And when she wasn't sleeping, she was very good, allowing us to enjoy dinner and have a proper adult time. Every year on the 24th, after dinner, Rob and I work on the meatballs for the Xmas lunch. This year, Cristian helped us. It was so much fun! Rob got creative and made two *meatballs* shaped with his initials (R O).

We also always make the table for the big Xmas lunch. All the women helped: mum, aunt Marilena, Bea, Ila and I all contributed to make this lovely table that seated 15 people, 12 adults and three kids. Even Emilia got her place-name! The decorations this year were all in Emilia's honour: bright colours, teddy bears and rocking-horses were all part of the decor.

Needless to say, the food was AMAZING, all lovingly prepared by my grandmum and mum. 

We like to think that Emilia enjoyed the day as much as we did. She even got to meet Santa (my mum!) and showed some interest in her gifts - cheeky! 

 I have always loved Christmas but now that we have Emilia it's even more fun. I look forward to next year already!