Let’s go for a walk, I said. It’ll get us out of the house and wake us all up, I said. Won’t it be nice to leave behind the consumption and self-centredness of present-fuelled frenzies and get back to nature, I said. Inevitably, the family had other plans.

In my head, Boxing Day is an oasis of calm and tranquility. There are always enough leftovers in the fridge to avoid cooking for a week; no one has to get up and out of the house; there are no deadlines or alarm clocks; there are more adults than children in the house, so keeping the kids entertained is, ahem, child’s play. The house is filled with laughter and good cheer, and it gives us all the chance to recover from the full-on busyness of December.

As you will no doubt have already worked out, the things that happen in my head are not always linked that closely to reality. In today’s case, there was no connection whatsoever. Firstly, The Paleontologist kicked up a fuss. She only wanted to stop building Lego if it meant starting using her new microscope. Then The Cowgirl got involved. So many costumes, so little time, and definitely no room for leaving the house, of all the abhorrent ideas. Next Mother joined in, with questions and wonderings and “I only want to help…” (Which is true, which is a tragic irony, as in fact it does nothing of the sort.)

A decision was made. Celebration time! Oh, no, wait: the Visiting Hound needed a walk. Being a Big Dog, he needed a Big Walk, and needed it right now. Everything was put on hold for another hour.

We did eventually make it out of the house. We even made it through the café and the gift shop, though of course we stopped at both. Eventually, we started a walk around Stowe Gardens. It was overcast, and cold, and we were all either exhausted or ill, so it was more of a meander than a hike. It was also a good way to get out of the house, wake up, and enjoy each others’ company without the exciting distraction of presents and chocolate. In short, actually, it was lovely.

Expectations are a killer, especially at this time of year. I have relatives in the house I haven’t seen for months. I have my husband and children in the house at the same time, which hasn’t happened since the beginning of Advent (or at least, that’s how it’s felt for most of this month). And yet, it’s Christmas time. Therefore, every moment had to be Meaningful. Every day has to be filled with Making Memories. And so the pressure mounts, and we forget that actually, what we are doing right now is already exactly what we need. We forget that what we need is to enjoy what is here, and now, and not spend our energy and focus on what we hoped to be doing, or on what other people might be doing. I, in particular, forget that Boxing Day is, in fact, a gift – an oasis of calm and tranquility after all.