On The Fifth Day of Christmas - A Pink Porcelain Heart From Chrissie Manby

On this fifth day of Christmas Chrissie Manby brings another ornament for the RNA tree...

My favourite Christmas ornament was made for me by my nephews, Harrison and Lukas. It's an avant-garde sort of bauble - a pink porcelain heart decorated with my initial in blue (my favourite colour) and a generous splash of thick blood-red into which Lukas has carved the word 'love'. The boys were seven and four when they made my heart in one of those ‘paint your own pottery’ shops in South London. Every time I look at it I remember how much fun we had that afternoon. My sister and I drank tea and gossiped while the boys got to work on a veritable production line of gifts for their grannies, their dad, their other auntie and me.  I can still picture their bright blond heads bent low over the painting table as they concentrated hard on making each bauble special and different.

Christmas seems to arrive about every three months these days and my nephews are growing up quickly. Harrison no longer believes in Father Christmas and even Lukas (six) wants to see solid evidence. Still, their excitement as the big day approaches is contagious and I am thrilled to be spending it with them again.  I can’t wait to see Lukas’s rendition of the Holy story (he’s a keen actor) and see Harrison’s Christmas cartoons (he’s a budding artist).  I’ve no children of my own so I feel incredibly lucky to be able to witness such magical moments in their young lives.  I shall treasure their bauble for all my Christmasses to come.

Chrissie Manby is the author of fifteen romantic comedies including Kate’s Wedding, Getting Over Mr Right and Seven Sunny Days.  They are all published by Hodder.  More details can be found on her website: www.chrissiemanby.co.uk. You can follow Chrissie on Twitter here.