I always remember this time of year with Nana very fondly, from as far back as i can remember she really enjoyed Christmas, and i think its because of her love for it that i love Christmas now. As i got a little older she used to let me help her put up her tree, it had brightly coloured lights, that had flower petal shades on them, i remember thinking how pretty they were when i was little. She had multi-coloured tinsel and little wooden ornaments that we put on it together. It always went in the same place in the corner on top of her record player, by the couch, and differing decorations she would hang from the ceiling. Nana would always be singing Christmas carols as she danced around the room. I remember she loved to sing,Good King Wensalas, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Twelve Days of Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. When it got really cold she would make tea and pop a litle tot of rum or brandy into it, saying it would warm up your cockles! Or she would break out a bottle of QC Cream and would encourage everyone to have just one more including herself!! Come Christmas Eve we would go and pick her up to spend Christmas with us, Mum and Dad would go out so it would be just me, Ste and Lee with Nana, most years our cousin Gary would come down as well, to spend Christmas Eve with us. Nana would let us have sweets and chocolate and drink lots of fizzy drink as long as we didn't tell Mum, although i think she knew really. We would put Christmas songs on the music channels and sing along or watch a Christmas film. We would go to bed just before Mum and Dad came home and pretend to be asleep. I always let Nana have my bed and knew that sometime in the middle of the night she need the loo, and i would get stood on, as she often forgot i was on the floor!! (Personally i think it was the Cinzano before bed) We would wake up really early to open presents and Nana would help Mum to make breakfast and start Christmas Dinner, after an exhausting morning we would always watch Top of the Pops, before dinner. I would always go home with Nana early on Boxing Day to help her set up for everyone coming as we would always get together and have a dinner and lots of dancing, the adults would have the alcohol flowing and we would have a buffet later on. I loved Boxing Day seeing all our family together, happy smiling, sharing Christmas stories, thanking each other for gifts. It was one of my most favourite things. I would always stay over to help Nana clean up i used to think it was so magical and exciting. As Nana got poorly there came a time when we couldn't carry on with this tradition. For me this was the first sign of us losing Nana and it frightened me so much. Every year i tell my children about our tradition of Christmas with Nana.I can still picture Nanas tree and how the bungalow would look,the families smiling faces and how happy this made Nana. I know she will be watching us this year looking at our family now, how it has grown and how proud she would be. This year Nana is with her family for Christmas, right where she belongs. In our own way we will all look back and remember Christmas with Nana from different viewpoints, this is just mine,that i wanted to share with you all. My Nana, My Angel. Merry Christmas xxxx