Happy Christmas Eve… It’s December 24th and we’re going back somewhere we haven’t been for a while.

It occurred to me that somehow, I’d skipped over a pretty important year and one that had us all talking… 2020. Yes… THAT year!

Amidst all the chaos of that crazy year… there were still good Christmas memories.

Is this first Christmas Memory post you’re seeing?
You can get caught up by starting back on day 1 to understand this year’s theme

2020 – Christmas Eve

This was something that we’d never done before… head out to experience downtown on Christmas Eve.

We’d all spent a good deal of 2020 confined or at lease severely limited in our movements, but by Christmas, things had calmed down quite a bit. I remember a few days earlier having spent a bit of time in Poitiers (no doubt doing some last minute Christmas shopping) and just the feeling of relative normality… It was WONDERFUL to see shops lit up & people bustling about.

I’d been alone in Poitiers so I determined that we’d head out together in Châtellerault before having our Christmas Eve dinner of fish chowder. The Christmas market booths were pretty much closing up and there wasn’t a great deal to see except for the lights.

As we walked past the bakery & pastry shop, they had one last little tray of sweet goodies which we inevitably brought home. I was a bit stunned at the price… but, it was Christmas so, a special occasion and a skilled pastry chef had put time & love into it so… Merry Christmas Eve!

I don’t want to completely skip over last year… so I’ll end off with a quick bullet-point list of memories to share from last Christmas.

2022

• Timo & Dominic started the year of with a bit of light painting… Good job guys!!
• Every once in a while a Christmas angel comes to help us decorate the tree. In addition to our biological kids, we have a number of adopted kids as well and Chloe is one of them… 🫶
• Just prior to Christmas, Liz & I were able to spend 10 days in Tuscany, Italy. One of our favourite little villages there is Volterra, and this is a photo of the Christmas tree on the main square.
• Volterra is known for it’s alabaster mines and carving… hence the little nativity scene that now graces our home each Christmas.

Thank you sharing this memory,
Merry Christmas Eve and…