Sussex columnist: Achieving the dream scenario for parents

An invite from the grandparents for both children to stay overnight at their place, leaving Mummy and Daddy with a whole day and night to themselves. And, most crucially of all, a morning where nobody would get them up at 6am by tapping them on the face.

My parents are very good at babysitting and helping us out, but this was the first time they’d had both children to stay overnight.

The world was our oyster, and we had thought we might take a trip up to London. But then we realised there was engineering work on the train line, so our decision was kind of made for us.

We plumped for a day in Brighton, and decided to book lunch at The Ivy. This was made even better by the fact I had a voucher to use, which had been given to me by my parents for my birthday (I know, I know, babysitting and free food. Yes, I’ll find out if they offer out their services!).

With the children dropped off for their weekend of fun, we drove and parked in Hove, and enjoyed a lovely walk into town. We were able to mooch round shops at our own pace, nobody hassled us to buy plastic tat that would have been lost or discarded before we’d even made it home, and we didn’t have to be the moral arbiters for any ‘debates’ between the two younger members of our household. We could talk about what we wanted to (although any parent will know it's almost impossible to have a conversation that doesn’t end up circling back to the children) and just generally relax.

And lunch was an absolute delight. If you’re heading to The Ivy for a Christmas treat you HAVE TO have the stilton and walnut soufflé. As Gregg Wallace is so fond of saying on MasterChef, ‘I could have eaten a bucketful of that with a spoon’.

And the sweet potato curry had me dreaming of the sauce it came in all weekend. It’s definitely not cheap there, but it’s definitely a case of you get what you pay for. And don’t get me started on the salted caramel espresso Martinis...

After a walk around the Christmas market near to St Peter’s Church, we had a leisurely stroll back to the car, knowing there was no bedtime duty for us. What utter bliss!

Instead, an evening of Hallmark’s finest Christmas movies awaited, and the certainty that one or both of us would fall asleep before 9.30pm (the husband,this time).

It was lovely to have some time to ourselves, but the house doesn’t half feel quiet when the two smallest but noisiest members of your family suddenly aren’t there.

But that was okay, because when they arrived back after lunch on Sunday, they were full of beans and ready to run round the house, with volume levels set to high, and wreak general havoc. And, just like that, it was as if our magical grown-up weekend hadn’t happened..!

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Sussex columnist: Coming full-circle to bond with my parents again

The festive madness has well and truly bedded in at Chateau H-M now. We’re halfway through Noddy, our Elf on the Shelf’s, escapades. I’m already running out of ideas of what to do with him, so I’ve resorted to repeating (hopefully forgotten) antics from years gone by. Because, who doesn’t love to find all their knickers hanging from the Christmas tree of a morning? Then there’s Advent calendars. On a trip to Wales at half term, we found ourselves at a Lindt outlet store, where my children’s great-uncle offered to buy them ‘any Advent calendar they want’.

Big mistake, Uncle Ian, because they obviously want the £15 ones with jumbo chocolate treats in. Which means I’m 15 days into my children probably having more than the recommended daily allowance of sugar before they’ve even changed out of their pyjamas.

I’ve bought wrapping paper, tags, tissue paper and gift bags, but I’m no closer to getting any actual gifts into them. And I’ve shed tears at the Nativity, a Christmas concert and the John Lewis Christmas advert. But, most importantly of all, I have a cupboard full of Baileys and After Eights just waiting for me to dive in. So, on that festive note, I’ll say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’m taking a little Christmas break, but will see you in 2023!