Winter Solstice Dinner

Hello everyone!

The challenge prompt for the first fortnight of December in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community was:

Challenge #23: Christmas Dinner

The month of December is all about the upcoming Christmas holiday! Both in the real world and the Sylvanian world, a highlight of each year is Christmas Dinner, with family, friends, and a wonderful feast.

There are many ways to celebrate the season! Show us what Christmas Dinner is like for your figures, whether your Sylvanians prefer a classic Christmas menu, look forward to unique local or family favorites, have a large gathering, celebrate in smaller numbers, create a massive feast or enjoy a more modest meal.

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever inspires you to do something creative around the Christmas Dinner theme or Christmas in general! If your Sylvanians celebrate a different winter holiday, please feel free to share that celebration instead. 

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As you already know if you read my previous story, the Sylvanians in Arcfield don't celebrate Christmas per se. They celebrate the coming of Winter on the night of the Winter solstice, during which the friendly forest spirit Holyster comes to bring gifts to them. On that night, families and friends assemble to enjoy a special dinner and spend quality time together. Sometimes these celebrations can get huge, as Sylvanians tend to have big families and many dear friends.

The family we'll be visiting this time, however, is a small one; the Andes family, consisting of father Rick, mother Ariadna, daughter Fiorella and baby son Óscar. They're going to spend a quiet family night enjoying each other's company. 

Here's the family decorating their tree for the season. The ornaments are very special, as their dear friends from Riverside sent them!  
(Thank you so much, Nina!).

While Rick gives the finishing touches to dinner, Ariadna and her daughter Fiorella work on setting the table. They're using the tablecloth and crockery reserved for special occasions! The crockery has flowers, of course; Ariadna loves them! Since Fiorella's quite short, she needs to get up on the chair to set the table. She hopes to get taller soon!

It's finally time for the family to enjoy dinner together! Everything is delicious, and Fiorella's delighted, as her parents have prepared all of her favourite dishes. They dote on her so much! She's positive there'll be pudding for dessert, too!
Even little Óscar's having his bottle at the table with the family. :)

After dinner, in the quietness of their home, Fiorella sings traditional songs for her parents and baby brother. Even though she does it completely a cappella, her voice is so beautiful and crystalline that it almost sounds like there are musical instruments accompanying her. Immensely proud of her daughter, Ariadna closes her eyes, smiles and lets Fiorella's voice carry her elsewhere, very far away.

(Thank you Emilie for the adorable printable!).

A bit later, when the children are already in bed, Ariadna and Rick finally have the time to enjoy a glass of wine together. 
Rick Andes sighs contently and smiles adoringly at his wife.
"Are you happy, my dearest?"
"I am" replies Ariadna, also smiling, her eyes twinkling slightly in the dim light. "I couldn't be happier, my love".

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Hope you enjoyed these pictures of this nice, special evening at the Andes' home. :) I tried my best to capture a quiet, cozy and Christmassy atmosphere. 
I wish you all a wonderful month of December!