The Box of Delights is a dvd of a children’s story by John Masefield. It was made and screened by the BBC before we had children but I loved it so much that I videoed it from the TV for our ‘future’ children. We began to watch it just before Christmas when the children were old enough to enjoy it. And now it is part of our family Christmas tradition. Every year on the day we put up our Christmas tree, about two weeks before Christmas Day, we watch the Box of Delights together. It is set in 1930’s Britain and is a magical fantasy story .It is great fun and full of old fashioned language like ‘I say, that’s the purple pim!’ We have watched it so often that we all know the dialogue virtually off by heart and often quote it to each other throughout the year. Both my children love it and I knew when their partners became serious, because they were allowed to join in the family viewing of The Box of Delights at Christmas. Now my future daughter-in-law and son-in-law both love watching the film as much as we do and are fully part of our family.
This all brings me such joy because it is an idea that I had before we had a family and now watching the film together is part of our close family bond which makes me so happy.
