Christmas Starts Here

Me and our good friend Franco
The Christmas table
Our Christmas tree

Lunch with Franco

Today we had Christmas lunch with our good friend Franco. We've been doing it for several years now so it's become a family tradition. We always feel that when Franco comes to visit, our Christmas really begins.

As always, we started the proceedings with champagne - my favourite tipple! Franco brought a really special bottle which we managed to polish off very quickly.

Although it meant slaving over a hot oven all morning, the effort was definitely worth it as Franco appreciated everything. The food was delicious and there were clean plates all round.

It was a good trial run for Christmas day when we'll have our first Christmas together at home on our own as a family since the children were born - that's 16 years!

Our dining room is decorated in red and gold and at Christmas it really comes into its own. I love to have lots of candles and twinkling fairy lights to create a really festive atmosphere.

It was so good to see Franco and to catch up with all his news. We don't see each other nearly often enough, but when we do get together it's always wonderful.

And today was a wonderful day.