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So what did the Sherlex clan get up to on Christmas day?

For starters, Mitchell adhered to our prayers and slept in until 8.45 - lovely! Fina had been out late at a Filipina party the night before and so she was particularly happy that he wasn’t banging on her door at 6.30.

Then we came out to the living room and discovered that Father Christmas had been! All of the bikkies and juice that we’d left for him were gone, as was the water and carrot for the reindeer. Father Christmas was obviously happy with the mid-delivery refreshments, because he left lots and lots of presents. Not surprisingly, most of them were for Mitchell.

There were clothes, toys, chocolates, cars, sticker books (in all Mitchell got over 900 stickers!), DVDs and other goodies.

There was also a pair of goldfish, who’ve been named Curly and Moe. Let’s see how long they go without being scooped out or having their water “enhanced” with chocolate milk.

There was also a set of golf clubs. I’m sure the insurance claim for the smashed TV will be making its way to the Lorkins very soon…

There was also a monster trike with some serious on-road rubber, for making endless burnouts on our balcony or in the building foyer.

So yeah, Santa was pretty generous this year, as were all of our friends and family back home. We’ve never received such a huge influx of presies and mail! The mail room had to put on a bag just for us!

Present opening complete, then it was time to prepare for lunch. Marcia, Marcin and their son Balthazar (Taz) came over to join us for a traditional Christmas lunch, including some Polish delicacies courtesy of Marcin (let’s just say there was lots of cabbage - with the inevitable repercussions later that evening… ). There was salmon mousse, and Polish mushroom/cabbage galettes, turkey and pork and baked salmon (Marcia and Marcin are vegequarians), a buche de noel, gingerbread bikkies and shortbreads and mince pies.

Let’s just say we ate well and felt rather corpulent for the rest of the day.

And that’s about it. Hope everyone out there had a terrific Christmas, and I hope you all saved some money for the post-Christmas sales!

As Christmas draws near (four sleeps to go!!), I thought I’d share the Lebanese love of nativity scenes with you. These first shots are from the display at ABC mall. Great attention to detail, and while I looked everywhere for a special treat such as the Christmas lobster accompanying the three wise men, sadly I couldn’t spot anything too untoward…

And then this little number is down the road from our place.

Five favourite games to pass the time at home without spending the whole day in front of the tv:

Giddeyap: Mitchell takes the belt from Sheridan’s dressing gown, wraps it over his chest and under his armpits, then gives you the loose ends to hold like reins. Then he runs around the house pulling you along, laughing like a hyena when you say “giddeyap!” or “whoa!”. He especially enjoys sudden direction changes. Particularly fun to watch when he’s pulling mummy around in her chair.

Horsies: an old favourite which is good exercise. Mitchell climbs onto your back for a horsie ride then makes you run as fast as you can from one end of the apartment to the other. And back. Over and over again. Until you’re ready to throw up.

The tiger’s coming: we climb onto the bed and gather up all the pillows, then build a fort using the pillows for walls. Then we hide behind the walls because of course THE TIGER is coming (we seem to have a real problem with tigers in Lebanon…) Sometimes Mitchell morphs into the tiger, in which case you’ll suddenly find yourself inside the fort with the tiger. Not wise.

Aeroplanes: you lie on the bed or the floor, with your knees tucked up to your chest. Mitchell lies along your forelegs, which you then lift into the sky so he can fly like a plane with his head sticking out between your knees. Of course wing flapping is obligatory, as is the inevitable crash at the end of the flight.

Mountaineering: while reclining in front of the TV or when reading a book, Mitchell decides to test his climbing ability. He takes both of your hands and slowly walks up your straight legs, then up your tummy, steps onto your shoulders and finally climbs onto the back of the sofa. He’ll then gambol around on top of the sofa, or if you’re really lucky he’ll turn around, sit on your head and try to slide back down your body, usually with very little grace or panache.

Okay, it’s time that we fessed up. We’ve actually been busy procreating over here in Lebanon and now have three kiddies instead of one. Don’t believe me? Check out the evidence!

Yeah, alright, they’re not all ours. During the Eid long weekend we had Marc and Barbie, and their two gorgeous kiddies come to stay with us. It was great fun showing them around, although we also seemed to spend lots of time just chilling out and yakking away about old times in Abu Dhabi.

The weather has taken a decidedly chilly turn of late, with wonderfully heavy rain the other day translating into a blanket of snow in the mountains (although this has already melted). The traffic on the road to ABC Mall, which runs through our neighbourhood, is at gridlock every evening as shoppers flock in. All of the streets and houses in our neighbourhood are decked with lights. The tree has magically appeared in the living room.

Sounds like Christmas is coming!

Mitchell is really into the whole concept of Christmas this year, enthusiastically devouring his way through his first advent calendar and exclaiming with delight everytime he sees a Christmas tree or any kind of Christmas decorations. And he’s especially uncomfortable with the fact that there’s currently no presents under our tree.

I wonder what Santa will bring?