Christmas sounds like ages ago but of course it needs to be documented, it being my favourite holiday of the year. This post is special because I've asked Pris who came over with her family, to blog about it! As mentioned previously Pris and I go a long way back. We were in NTU and met when we both joined Campus Crusade for Christ and were in the same discipleship group. The friednship was cemented when we went to Canada for student exchange and it was there that we all knew Stephan, "the other exchange student from Germany". Soon after Pris and Stephan started dating. Fast forward they got married and she moved to Germany. I had no idea that fate would bring me to this part of the world, and since arriving in London, she has very kindly invited me to join her and the Tews family for Christmas every year. It's also Pris who inspired me to start a blog to keep in touch with family back home and I never knew I loved writing that much - this blog will be 8 years old in April! Since meeting the Tews, I've got to know them really well, and feel so welcomed in their family (adopted even!). Pris suggested visiting us in London for Christmas last December and I was a little worried that the yearly Tews tradition would be broken, but at the same time, I did think it is time to show some hospitality in return :) It would be fun having a lively Christmas with them and the two kids. So here goes!
~~~~~~~
Hi, I'm Priscilla and we have just spent the past
Christmas with the lovely Bel and her hubby, K. Bel has been our perennial Christmas visitor over the
past few years, whereas we have only managed to visit her once back in 2009
when we were still happily carefree without kids.
Since then, London has always been
a top visit-again destination on our list but unfortunately, with 2 kids in
tow, we've never plucked up the courage to visit this metropolis. London's
reputation of being stroller-unfriendly in the subway stations and crazily
jam-packed trains during rush hours is enough to deter any parent from
visiting with young kids.
 |
They loved hanging out with uncle Kian
|
|
This time however, I decided that I simply had to
visit London before our #3 made his appearance in Spring 2016. Being
Singaporean, I've had lots of local food cravings for this pregnancy but unlike
my other 2 pregnancies, I couldn't fly back to Singapore this time. So, we
decided to kill two birds with one stone and spend Christmas with the Ongs,
while I could happily indulge in authentic Asian food.
I'm really glad that Belinda knows our family pretty
well. She's seen my 2 boys growing up and my older one remembers her by name.
While we all looked forward to having an English Christmas for the first time
in 9 years, I was a bit apprehensive at how our family of 4 would be descending
on her "two-people-world" like a bunch of locusts! Ok, locusts would be stretching it, but we do have 2 rambunctious toddler boys after all.
 |
| I found them hiding under the dining table one morning |
Our 8 days at the Ongs household turned out much
better than we had feared. The boys didn't destroy anything, save for an
unfortunate incident when Gabriel got hold of a pen and drew on Bel's shabby
chic (ie. vintage) and white(!!!) bedside table. The hub got into emergency
mode and quickly erased the pen marks with a good-old eraser. Day saved!
*phew!*
 |
| Caught them in action sliding down the stairs |
 |
| Boys will be boys |
The boys had superb fun sliding down the carpeted
stairs every.single.day! And they went SO fast!
I seriously thought at least one would end up slipping and that would mark an
end to their adventure. However, even a close-call for Gabriel only ended up
with him laughing his heads off before he continued for more!
Our Christmas was very relaxing. Really. REALLY.
relaxing! Compared to the crazy madness we usually have doing last-minute
present wrapping, going to church, preparing our Raclette dinner, having the
family over, the clean-up after etc, last year's Christmas was such a breeze!
B and K had bought ready-made turkey breast that could
be easily shoved into the oven, together with ready-made vegetables. The only
thing we had to prepare was the salad. And since we arrived in London on the
23rd of Dec, we were done with all our last-minute present wrapping.
 |
| Table all set! |
 |
Chef Ong in his element trying to divide portions of the turkey which was so good
|
 |
| Roast turkey with stuffing, topped with a bacon lattice served with honey roasted vegetables |
It was just so good to celebrate Christmas out of the
ordinary and spend some quiet moments with close friends. The kids liked their
"shark attack" present, although I must say that they probably
enjoyed the unwrapping of the presents more than the presents themselves!
We spent the rest of the Christmas holidays going on
leisurely walks to the park in Greenwich, me indulging in my Asian delicacies
like Dim Sum, Beijing duck pancakes, bubble tea, Singaporean food. Honestly, we
had no specific agenda for London. We came mentally-prepared that with 2 kids
in tow, we would have to scale down on expectations on what we hope to see in
London.
 |
| At Knole Park |
 |
| We were freezing here btw |
I was happy going to Leicester Square (Chinatown),
eating a sumptious lunch, heading to a museum to hang out for an hour or two,
before heading somewhere else for dinner. Lol.
 |
| Gabriel and his love for bubble tea |
The kids were very much troopers too. We got a very
light-weight buggy (pushchair) for the younger one, while the older one walked
the entire time. I must say that the ages of 4 and 2.5 years is a pretty
manageable age for London.
Whenever we took the subway, the hub would be the one
to carry the buggy on the stairs, Sammy made his way up by himself, while I
trudged slowly behind with the little one who could only manage one step at a
time (read: VERY slowly). I'm 6.5 months pregnant, so I couldn't possibly carry
an almost 15-kg toddler up and down the stairs. So as much as I felt sorry for
the commuters behind us, I could do nothing else other than walk in a beeline
behind Gabriel and try to allow more space for the others to pass us by.
I must say that I was pretty impressed by the general
social graces of the people in London. I never once heard any audible sighs or
any indication of impatience when I was managing those subway stairs with my
little ones. A couple of people also approached the hub to ask if he needed
help carrying the buggy up the stairs. For a metropolis with 10 million
inhabitants, I found this really noteworthy! Commuters often gave up their
seats when they saw the little ones standing in the subway too, so kudos to
that! I didn't have anyone giving up their seat for me, but I'm assuming its
cos it's not that easy to see I'm pregnant with my trench coat on and all.
All-in-all, it was a very pleasant and lovely
Christmas break in London. We all took turns to come down with a weird sore
throat / slight fever but nothing too serious - except for the hub who is still
nursing his sore throat after more than a week! Thanks Bel and K for opening
your house to us! Sam (my older one) was so sad to leave and kept saying
"I want to stay at Auntie Belinda's house."
London is after all only a 1hr 20 mins flight away
from Stuttgart, so we really could visit the Ongs more often..... Shh! I think
they do need some time to recuperate from the kids.
 |
| Farewell dinner at Burger & Lobster |
Guest blogger: Priscilla
is a stay-at-home to 2 boys, aged 4 and 2.5years with a 3rd one joining in the
fun in April 2016. A Singaporean based in Stuttgart, Germany for the past 9
years, she thinks she’s almost 1/3 German! She enjoys hanging out with her
boys, finding fun things to do, blogging, instagraming and trying out new
recipes. The Tews are a God-loving and people-loving family who love being a
blessing to others! www.prissteph.blogspot.com
Comments