Christmas 2020

Christmas morning. A day of gift giving, a day of celebration, a day of thanksgiving & generosity and for us, a day to start family traditions.

We buy the kids matching Christmas pyjamas. Cliche I know, but we are keenly aware how quick they grow up and will all too soon start to reject our childish ideas. Noah is so excited about Christmas that he wants to wear the pyjamas all the time - “all day, everyday!” as he puts it. Christmas music plays in the background as we start the morning with a pancake breakfast.

After breakfast, it’s present time - the most exciting time for any child at Christmas! Noah goes through the presents one by one, ripping the wrapping paper apart, his eyes keenly on the prize itself. This year’s haul consists of trains and tracks, books, a water bottle and an expansion to his magnetic tile set. His eyes light up at the train toys - they’re exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately, we have a deal with Noah that if he hasn’t slept through the night by himself before Christmas, he can’t open his presents. To his credit, he doesn’t get upset about not being able to play with them immediately so in the spirit of Christmas, we allow him play with the toys just for the day. Tomorrow they’ll be packed back into the boxes and used as a motivation tool for him to overcome his fear about sleeping on his own.

It’s Sophie’s first Christmas, so ripping up wrapping paper is more fun than the presents itself and she seems content with that.

Despite all the wonder and joy that Christmas presents bring, 2020 has again made clear that there’s nothing more precious than being with your loved ones: sharing the room, eating together, looking them in the eyes. And surely, that’s the greatest gift of all.

Photographed on Contax G1, Contax T2 and Pentax 67 on Kodak Portra 400