Christmas Eve began no different from any other morning this year. Yawning, I opened the blind to see what the day outside offered. It was cold and dark, a typical midwinter day, with a coating frost covering the ground, my car and a few scattered toys the children had absentmindedly left on the driveway the previous evening. Gazing through the steamed up windowpane, onto the frosty wonderland outside, I felt almost as cold as the weather outside. Grabbing hold of my dressing gown I donned quickly it. Embracing its wonderful warmth, I pulled it tightly closed around me. "That's better," I whispered, mindful of my wife and children who were still fast asleep in their beds.Yawning some more, I ambled out from the bedroom, along the hallway then into the kitchen, where I plugged in the kettle for the most important part of the day...