This evening, Paul was out and we were running late, and suddenly the little ones were tired and grumpy needed to be fast-tracked to bed so I didn’t remind them about our Christmas story routine.  We just read two books that they chose, in their bedroom, and then I went back down to read to the big boys and light our Advent candle.  I felt a bit bad that the little ones were missing out, but I had a book saved for just such a situation, one that was more suitable for the older children.

The Best Christmas Present in the World, by Michael Morpurgo, is a short story which centres around a letter written by a soldier in the trenches in 1914.  The Christmas truce, and the football match in No Man’s Land between the English and the Germans, are brought to life in the letter, discovered in a roll-top desk which the narrator buys in a junk shop.  This leads him on a quest to find Connie, to whom the letter is written.

It was just right for Owl, who has been reading a lot about the World Wars recently, and Monkey found it interesting too.  I enjoyed the time with just my two big boys, though I hope we’ll be back to reading a Christmas story together as a family tomorrow.