Archives for December 2014

I don’t know if you noticed, most of the pictures I posted on Instragram over the holidays were hashtagged #quietchristmas, because that’s what it was. Quiet.
We’re used to traveling over the holidays and seeing a whole lot of people in a very short amount of time, so staying put this year and not seeing anyone for Christmas was a very different experience.
Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel on Christmas Eve. I had been pep-talking myself for the last few weeks that it would be fine and that we would make it a great Christmas. Different, but great. And you know what? It was.

I am not saying that I didn’t miss hugging everybody on Christmas Eve (and I definitely missed my Dad’s exquisite cooking), but besides feeling a little down directly after my Skype session with my family on Christmas Eve morning (when they were all gathered at my sister’s house), I actually was able to enjoy our quiet Christmas. Sometimes not having any plans IS the plan and it’s not the worst plan one can have.

I decorated our little tree in the morning, I drank copious amounts of gingerbread coffee, I watched “The Holiday” (my favorite) in the afternoon and I put together a “Weihnachtsteller” (Christmas plate) as we would find at my parents’ house and because clearly Christmas is not Christmas without After Eight (and Christmas cookies, Dominosteinen (gingerbread cookies filled with marzipan, apricot jelly, covered with icing of dark chocolate) and toffifee).

I set our dinner table (menu cards included — that’s one of my duties for every Christmas Eve dinner) and we cooked ourselves a delicious three-course meal.

We unwrapped some presents after dinner (because we open presents on Christmas Eve in Germany) and then watched “It’s a wonderful life”, one of our Christmas movie favorites!

We had coffee out of our new mugs on Christmas day morning and then emptied our Christmas stockings that we had filled for each other. Originally we didn’t plan to exchange gifts this year, but I thought it would be nice to combine traditions and have some stockings! We watched more Christmas movies and then later went for a walk through the close-by neighboorhood to enjoy the Christmas decorations. Honestly, I find nothing more festive than seeing the decorated and illuminated trees in other people’s windows!

We had a cozy “second Christmas holiday” on Friday. (J thinks it’s one of the best things about the ‘German Christmas’ that we get a second holiday off (the 26th)and that we should clearly – in the spirit of combining Christmas traditions – acknowledge the 26th as another holiday. Fine by me!

I spent most of the day on the couch reading, knitting and just enjoying the time off.

Last but not least I’d like to thank all of you who sent Christmas cards (and even little presents!) this year. They honestly made this holiday season extra-special. I did send cards, too, of course, but in case you haven’t gotten it yet… I’ve heard that the postal service is taking its sweet time this year (or they are hopelessly overwhelmed with the amount of mail this year — which, I guess, considering the fact that the postal service has been struggling to stay afloat, would be a good thing after all). So maybe you’ll still get a little surprise after the holidays!

I do apologize though that I forgot to snap any pictures of us. Maybe I’ll remember this next year!

I hope you had a lovely Christmas as well, friends.
Thanks for being, in one way or another, part of mine.

I saw this post on someone’s blog (forgive me, I was clicking around and did a quick copy + paste for the blog idea, but then forgot to remember where I found it. Hmpf.) and you might have seen it around too. So, I give credit to whoever came up with this fun little meme!)

1. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

All of them? Ok, I am kidding, but I do love Christmas movies. The one I could watch over and over and over again is “The Holiday”. Hands down my favorite. (I managed to watch 12 Christmas movies this year!).

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas Eve! This is how it is done in Germany and it’s been a really weird adjustment to realize that Christmas Eve is not really the ‘big day’ here in the US. Now we’re combining traditions to make the most of Christmas! We had a fantastic dinner and opened some presents on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas morning, we emptied some stockings and had another great meal later in the day. Oh, and did you know that in Germany, we get not one, but two Christmas holidays? So we declared December, 26 a ‘holiday’ for us as well.  Gotta make the most of it :)

3. Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?

Not really. My favorite memory is just always being with my whole family on Christmas Eve.

4. Your favorite festive food?

Baked apples with almond splints, cinnamon and vanilla sauce.

5. Your favorite Christmas gift?

That my family is going to come visit next summer. (We skipped presents in my family this year to make this happen!)

6. Your favorite Christmas scent?

Vanilla and cinnamon! (Well, I actually love it all year round!)

7. Do you have any Christmas eve traditions?

Yes! As previously mentioned, Christmas Eve is the most important holiday in Germany and we usually go to a Christmas service in the afternoon and then all gather at my parents house (all being my sister and her family, my aunt and cousin and J and me… and my granddad and great-aunt, when they were still with us, sigh!) and then we would wait for the “Christkind” (christ child) to come and deliver the presents (that is usually just a thing for the kids who have to go upstairs and wait for a little bell to ring). We exchange presents – one at a time, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the gifts – and then sit down to a multi-course meal that my Dad (and Mom) put together every year! It’s always fantastic and never the same. The dinner usually goes into the late hours of the evening and then we’d still hang out until after midnight! It’s the most wonderful night of the whole year, I tell you.

8. What tops your tree?

A straw star.

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

Ha, like every girl, I wanted my own pony, but of course, never ever got it.

10. What’s the best part about Christmas for you?

I kind of answered this question in a previous post. I literally love everthing about Christmas, but when it comes down to the wire, time spent with my family is the most precious part!