Twixtmas 2016

I like the bit between Christmas and New Year: the stresses of Christmas are out of the way, there's a decent chance the children will entertain themselves for at least a little while with their new toys, enforced holiday means we get a good stretch of family time, and there's time to do a few little things that I haven't got round to over the rest of the year. I'm not sure where the word Twixtmas came from - a friend used it last week and I realised that I have definitely called it that before, so from now on I'm going to use the word as it's a lot easier to say than 'the week between Christmas and New Year'.

So what did I get up to this Twixtmas?

First, on Boxing Day, I knitted a sock from the yarn I got for Christmas (I showed it to you last week). I also found time to knit the second sock, and I really like how they turned out. The Regia Pairfect was easy to turn into matching socks, which is how I like them.

I started to crochet my TOFT chameleon, which was my Christmas present to myself. It's crocheted from the tail up, which was so fiddly! I've used the first of the four (25g) balls of wool supplied, so I've still got a way to go, but I think it'll be easier from here on in (I can now get two fingers into the piece I'm working on, which is making it much faster).

I cast on a second pair of socks, and have already knitted the first. It's knitted in Regia Stripemania, which is a DK weight yarn. These ones are going on the gifting pile as I don't wear DK socks, but I know people who would be delighted with them.

We played some board games as a family. My son got Hungry Hippos for Christmas and I think we all enjoyed playing, even if the games are over in a flash! Ticket to Ride also went well - the aim is to build routes between cities and a complicated points system defines who's won. We've been playing it on the iPad recently, which is easier as the routes you have to try and complete are indicated, whereas on the board you have to remember where you're going, or constantly check your route cards. We decided to play the board game version with our 5 year old and once we'd made the concession of placing markers on his routes it worked well.

I want to go to the cinema more this year as I love watching films, but pay little attention when I'm watching them on tv at home. I started this aim well by taking my son to see the BFG at a children's screening on New Year's Day. It was lovely to watch a whole film without distraction.

I got a KitchenAid for Christmas, and had fun testing it out by baking a chocolate cake. A friend bought me 1.5kg of mixed Jazzies and Snowies (chocolate sweets coated in hundreds and thousands), so I let me daughter stick loads on to decorate the cake, nibbling the odd one as she went.

One afternoon we walked into town from our house, which we don't do often as it's just a bit beuyond what the kids are happy to walk, distance-wise. But with the aid of a scooter, they joined in happily enough. It was one of the days when the frost never really cleared, but the low sun shining over the hills was glorious.

A lovely week of simple things with no time pressure. What did you get up to over Twixtmas?