I wonder if I’m ever going to catch up on the last couple of weeks, if not now. Christmas, Germany, family time – this all seems so long ago again. I am really not a fan of how fast the ‘vacation feeling’ wears off once you get home and are thrown back into everyday life.
Our trip, 3-weeks long (and yes, I am very appreciative of that much time off in one chunk!), was simply wonderful. We got to see so many people!
The weeks leading up to our trip were stressful as I was trying to set dates and times with everybody we wanted to see. Do people not realize what a huge organisational undertaking it is to coordinate so many people in a three-week window (not to mention with holidays and family obligations strewn about in between)? Yeah.
In the end, (almost) all worked out. We had stuff going on pretty much every single day, but it was so worth it. I saw friends that I hadn’t seen in a few years, we saw dear friends that we miss having around during the year (and wished lived closer) and we spent some real quality time with my family.
You want proof? You got it.
The only person that was missing this year was our Ina. She passed away a year ago last Sunday and coming home and realizing that she would be missing at our Christmas Eve dinner table was… hard. It was just not the same without her. I had a similar feeling the year when my Granddad passed 4 years ago. It’s weird when chairs are suddenly left empty where somebody sat and smiled and laughed only a year before. Loss is a strange thing.
My Dad worked up an incredible Christmas Eve dinner again this year. He had me fall in love with savoy cabbage all over again. I know, it sounds like a pretty un-fancy vegetable for a fancy dinner, but seriously, bear with me. I am a big fan of cabbage as is, but they way it was prepared (with creamed horseradish) was absolutely divine. Here’s the whole order of courses (that will make your mouth water, I promise):
Cod with leaf spinach
Beef filet with creamed horseradish savoy cabbage and root vegetables
Lava cake with vanilla sauce, caramelized apples and pears and vanilla ice-cream
We took turns giving and opening presents (even the kids patiently participated), ooh-ing and aah-ing over the exchanged gifts.
As much as I don’t want to buy into the “Christmas-consumerism”, I do take great pleasure in finding and/or creating and giving gifts to people I care about. They don’t have to be extravagant and expensive. It’s just a sign of love and appreciation. Of course, time spent together is the most sought-after commodity during our short visits and I try to enjoy every second to the fullest.
Greta being silly
my sweet sister and I
my beautiful Mom
… also the world’s greatest Dad
Basti and I
my parents and my aunt
I have way too many pictures and stories to share for one post, so there are a couple more recaps to come (if you don’t mind). Stay tuned.
Linda
January 23, 2014 at 7:41 amLove how lovely the Christmas place settings are!
dominique
January 23, 2014 at 1:07 pmayyyy this looks like an awesome Christmas, San! I was so jealous of your instagrams from Germany, and I’m glad that you got to take such a substantive break.
Cait
January 23, 2014 at 5:09 pmThose place settings are gorgeous! And the food looks mouth-watering. What a wonderful Christmas celebration – I can’t wait to read more about your time at home for the holidays. :)
Chrissy
January 24, 2014 at 6:03 amAh, looks like you had an amazing time with the ones you love! Wonderful!
And the food…mmh…looks delicious!
Have a wonderful weekend, San xxx
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
January 25, 2014 at 6:46 amYum! Your Christmas dinner looked amazing, and the tablescape was beautiful too. I love cabbage, too, so that dish with the horseradish cream would be right up my alley! Yum!
I am glad you got a nice long stretch with your family. It is very difficult to coordinate schedules when I go home, so I can relate. I am usually only home for a couple of days and I am often working some of those days, so it’s very hard and I sometimes will have people say they are disappointed that I didn’t see them, which is hard for me to hear because there is one of me and many of them… but hopefully I will be home or good this year because as much as I love trips home, they end up being stressful and I hate that feeling!
Gina
January 25, 2014 at 1:12 pmLooks like you had a lovely Christmas! I love the place settings– so fancy!
terra
January 25, 2014 at 3:44 pmThat dinner looks amazing! I’m so glad you got to spend so much time there and I know how crazy it always is when you visit enough place – there’s never enough time to see and do everything!
Jen
January 29, 2014 at 4:57 amOh it looks like you had a great Christmas! And that food looks delicious.
Maribeth
February 1, 2014 at 5:27 amThe dinner looks so delicious! I love the picture of the children with their desserts! I am amazed at how grown up the two children are, but even more so, Basti! He is no longer a teenager! Your parents look wonderful as does your sister! A beautiful family, San!!!