We've had iPeace and iGoodwill this Christmas!

Hosting Christmas in a faraway country, with only four teenagers as 'the family' can be taxing and turbulent, to say the least. This year, however, we found the magic wand that creates Peace and Goodwill in the homefront: iPods!

Paul and I decided we would forfeit our annual Christmas holiday, and spend the money on buying decent gifts for the kids instead. The choice on gifts was easy, really. It just had to be the new 8Gb iPod Nano. You can download music, videos and photos on to it, and use it to play games. The ultimate in teenage entertainment, and according to Apple, a good educational aid.

Rae's mobile phone had just broken for the umpteenth time, so she got a new phone, and a cute little pink iPod Shuffle instead. And guess what - the shop manager threw in a Shuffle for me for free! (I don't think he could believe his luck at the lady buying 3x iPod Nanos, a phone and an iPod Shuffle all at the same time!)

Christmas Eve was a happy and joyous occasion. I cooked a lovely meal with all the traditional trimmings. Rae and I laid the table beautifully in red, gold and black. We had sparkling wine (Nederburg) and red wine. (Obikwa and Two Oceans - cheap South African plonk, but good.)

After dinner we sat down to open our gifts. Everyone had gone to great lengths to buy gifts for each other, and we had a veritable pile of gifts which Dan handed out. Watching the kids open their iPods was such a treat! Worth every sent spent. Little did I know the best was yet to come....

Well, yesterday, Christmas Day, was an uncharacteristically quiet affair. It was Peaceful, and filled with Goodwill.

Paul and I basked in the sun on the deck, while Dan did the BBQ. Mind you, our Chef kept disappearing, and I later found out he was downloading songs on to his new iPod. Niel and Joe had an amicable badmington game on the newly mown lawn, iPods around the neck - so no bickering.

Rae had a very sociable day - sitting quietly with us at times, standing on the balcony sometimes, texting away on her new phone, with earphones on... In the background we had the peaceful sounds of birds chirping away in the trees, and the strains of Bing Crosby's Christmas Album. Our choice of music, for once!

No one spoke to Paul or to me. We could actually have a real, grown up conversation, for once. No bickering. (Well, not as much as usual.) No smarmy comments. (Well, very few.) And no-one responding to any requests from my side. (Which did cause some hurt feelings, but Oh well, what is Christmas without a bit of emotional turmoil!)

All in all, I would recommend to any parent of teenagers - Buy the kid an iPod! It's a wise investment, and restores the pre-parenting calm into your household!

Hope you all had a marvellous Christmas and that 2009 holds in the very best for all of you!

PS. My American brother has let me know that, in his opinion, Zune is better than iPod. What do you think?