What do you do on Xmas day in Switzerland? You go skiing and tobogganing. That is what we did this morning. My Dad first took Helen and the boys up to Bodmi for skiing and then came back to fetch Chloe and me and the toboggans. At Bodmi there is a toboggan run and so while the three of them practiced their skiing and continued their lessons, Chloe and I tobogganed.  My Dad has some fancy toboggans with steering wheels and brakes.  Chloe originally tried with one of the toboggans without a steering wheel but after 3 runs and coming out each time she gave up and moved to one of the modern technology ones. She also gave up trying to do the run from the top because she got up so much speed she just came out every time. That didn’t stop me from doing the run all the way from the top though and I got up so much speed that I actually went right up the relatively steep slope at the end without even stopping. I am the king of tobogganing though and eventually was doing the run with so much skill that I used the slope to slow myself down, get a turn in and make it back down and straight onto the magic carpet to go back up without having to get out of the toboggan. Who needs to ski when you can toboggan – much more fun!

The boys mastered the run down from Bodmi and back up again on the pommel lift and the ski instructor says they are now ready for the big slopes and so are heading up Firzt tomorrow for a proper lengthy ski. We did see at one stage that the instructor got them to ski together holding their ski poles. It was quite funny to watch as they tried to ski down together. I am sure there was a point for them besides for the amusement of their instructor and Chloe and I as we watched! Helen eventually made it down Bodmi with her instructor today as well. Helen is complaining bitterly now that the instructor is going too slowly for her. So much for not wanting to ski three days ago! The weather was again lovely today. Not very cold at all and partly cloudy most of the day.  The boys have figured out how to ski back directly to the chalet and it is clearly much quicker doing that than driving down as they beat us both days by a long time.

After we got back from skiing/tobogganing we opened the Christmas presents (which were mainly for my parents from us and from my parents to the kids). We had already done the rest of the presents in CT before we left (there was no way we were bringing the presents over with us). We decided to have a light lunch and rather have a full Xmas dinner. The afternoon was spent resting (alternative reading sleeping). We went for a quick late afternoon/early evening walk through the town. That quickly degenerated into a snowball fight between Stephen, Chloe and me (somehow Helen managed to remain Swiss like and uninvolved).

We got back to Xmas dinner of chicken, fillet (which cost R350 for what would have cost us R100 in SA!) and gammon. Fortunately there is enough leftover so we won’t starve the next few days. Now the family (excluding me) are watching the Christmas edition of Downtown Abbey. Special Christmas day broadcast. And while the adverts are on now there is an in-depth analysis happening between my Dad, Stephen, Chloe and Helen on the acting ability, looks, sense of humour of the various cast members etc. At least this has stopped the technical electronic discussions between my Dad and Stephen about diodes, inversions, subversions and other terms which make no sense to anyone but them.

Merry Christmas to everyone. We trust you had a good day with family and friends. There is no better way to end today than with the following quote prophesying the coming of Christ many years later:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9)