Christmas Flashback 2005

'Tis the season of "do you remember?" as we recall the moments of Christmas past. That's had me searching through the video archives for snippets of Sam's first Christmas in this house, when he was two and a half. I wish I had hundreds more hours of clips like these!

Here are a few seconds of the boys tearing out of one of the boardrooms at the CRA, just before the kids' Christmas party began. I cut it short when they rounded the corner for the Parliamentary Affairs division ... The Hill staff do not brake for toddlers! This was the day Sam was introduced to Ben 10 action figures—an interest that endured for a few years, though it's faded now.

Next is a clip of Sam opening his present from "The Morley" in Paul & Siobhan's kitchen—his love of Star Wars toys having been born in that very house, where the classic ship and 1970s action figures have been (and continue to be!) Sam's happy distraction.

And, finally, we have the Christmas morning discovery of Batman in a tent—the gift from Santa. Jeremy had spent the wee hours repairing the Caped Crusader, whose snapped off leg wasn't apparent in the plastic packaging (he looked good as new). Sam's quirky humour is already apparent as he scootches out of the tent and out of the frame chanting, "ya... ya...ya!"

And here's lil' Sam asleep with his favourite new "guy"... one of many he'll collect in the coming years. The first of many Merry Christmases in Hudson House....