A Californian Christmas
'Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the house Two toddlers were thundering... ... and so we went out to meet my lovely friend Lisa and her five-year-old son Niko. I first met Lisa when we were both students at UCSD (University of California, San Diego), and I've since seen her in England and in New York - isn't it excellent when friendships can span the globe? We had pancakes, then a play in a park, and it was a splendidly Californian way to spend Christmas Eve. It was particularly nice to have young company for our two as they don't really get much chance to socialise with other children - despite me looking for playgroups in every place we've stayed, our little ones tend to be too young for more formal classes (not to mention they're often full up or you have to commit for a full term), or too old for many of the baby groups run by the libraries. Sometimes we're lucky when we visit parks and there are some 2- or 3-year-olds there, but mostly...