“Wow! Megan, it smells wonderful,” Warren says as he walks into the dining room with Lucy on his hip.

“You’re getting the hang of this,” I say, raising my eyebrows at him.

“Thank you. There are still bits that I need to learn though. I have never done a nappy before,” he admits.

“I’ll teach you. Let’s eat first. Do you want to pop Lucy in her high chair?”

I watch as Warren lowers her into her chair. He really has gotten the hang of it.

“What a surprise! I love the name place cards,” Jenny says, lifting up her card.

They are white with a silver border and a little silver star to the bottom right-hand corner. I made them all myself. Each card has a Christmas joke written on the inside. I found them online the other night. Yes, they are the traditional bad Christmas jokes. You can’t have a Christmas without bad jokes and silly paper hats. Everyone starts pulling their candy-striped crackers and getting an array of different coloured hats. Warren has a lime green one, Connor takes an orange one, Jenny grabs a yellow one, Mark puts on a blue one, and mine is purple.

“What colour is your hat, Kate?” Warren asks.

“Pink.” She smiles brightly.

She finally places it on her head and then turns for everyone to see. We all dive in, doing the full family thing and passing the dishes to the next person. Both Warren and Connor help Kate, who decides she only wants mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets, and turkey with gravy.  I cut up a few bites and place them onto Lucy’s plastic Christmas plate. Jenny found it the other day; it’s a white plate with red border that matches the rest of the collection, but Lucy’s also has a green tree in the middle of it. It came with a matching bib, plastic cup and cutlery. Warren placed her bib on her when he put her into her chair.

I sit there and watch everyone eat. Some go for seconds, thirds, and Kate even has four helpings. I feel so lucky. I’m sure that I’m going to be happy for life because I have such supportive friends and family members. I love everyone.

“Megan, you take the kids and get a film on, and we will clear up,” Warren says.

“No, Jenny can. I’ll help you out.”

“No!” he says, shaking his finger.

“Okay, can you place the spare vegetables into a box? The meat goes into silver foil in the fridge and a few things go into the oven.”

“Yes, Megan, show me the bits that go into the oven and then piss off.”

“As if you just told me to piss off,” I say, pushing Warren.

Opening the freezer, I take out all the bags of sausage rolls, mini sausages, and vol au vent cases and give him the rest of the instructions before exiting.

“I hope they can manage,” I say to Jenny as I take a seat on the sofa.

“They will be fine.”

“Shall we pop a film on?” I ask.

“Yes, you pick.”

Lucy is sitting on the floor with Kate, playing with her dolly. I love watching them together, and they interact so well. Kate is trying to teach Lucy things. They are helping each other develop so much. I remember reading an article about that, but I never knew it was true. Scanning through the television guide, I find lots of Christmas films. I love the true ones.

“Jenny, have you ever noticed that in every Christmas film there is a man named Nick?”

“No, I haven’t, but come to think of it, yes, I see what you’re talking about. Why is that?”

“I have no idea, but it could have something to do with Saint Nicholas,” I say, trying not to laugh.

“Oh yes,” Jenny says, shaking her hair.

“That was a full-on blonde moment there, hun.”

“When can we open more presents?” Kate asks.

“You can open one now and the rest when your daddy has finished washing the dishes,” I state. I’m sure he will be fine with missing one.

“This one,” she says, pulling out a big box that’s covered in sparkly princess paper.

“Go on,” I say, watching her rip open the paper.

“ARGH!” she says animatedly.

“What is it?”

“A cot.”

“Shall I build it up for you?” I ask.

“YES! YES! YES!” She agrees, pushing the box over to me.

I quickly build up the cot. It’s a simple pink travel cot for Dolly that matches her pram. Kate always tells me that you can only have girl dollies, not boy ones. I pull out the rest of the box, showing her a cover for Dolly and a mobile with different animals to hang over the top.

“I’ll take that,” Warren says, coming into the room and taking away the empty box.

“Thank you.”

Kate puts down Dolly for her nap. “Night night, Dolly.”