December has sneaked on me and is by now nearly over, I know it’s a cliché but it HAS flown by. Nevertheless, I still managed to enjoy some of my favourite things of the season, including the song that inspired the post, performed by Sarah Vaughan.
EGGNOG Being available only during the festive time, eggnog is the foreteller of Christmas as far as I’m concerned. I discovered it in the fridge section of my grocery store only a few years ago, thus an addiction was born!
LOVE, ACTUALLY Colin Firth. And if I really have to add anything else (although I sincerely think there is no need at all) – Billy Mack, dancing Hugh Grant, and Emma Thompson paired with Joni Mitchell.
CARD-WRITING Writing practice and keeping in touch with the family, all in one! Living far from a good portion of our loved ones, I gather it’s important to keep in touch and make my children aware of all the people that care about them. Therefore, every year we go through a ritual of choosing just the right card for each person, deciding what to write to whom and in the end actually sitting down and putting pen to paper.
BAZAR An event we never miss, the Bazar International, is an introduction to the festive time for us. It seems the whole of Luxembourg meets there on that one weekend of the year so we always look forward to bumping into people we haven’t seen in a while. It’s a joyous event with each stand representing a different country offering national dishes and knick-knack with performances scattered in between. And sampling delicious food, some of which reminds you of home, while contributing to charity is never a bad idea.
CHISTMAS MARKET It may not be the most famous or glorious one but the Marché de Noël is an endearing part of our Decembre traditions with its gluhwine, mettwürst and gromperekischelscher.
BAKING Either with the help of friends or just the four of us, we always make sure there are biscuits in the house, as the years is reaching its end, Sometimes we even agree to sharing with the neighbours. Just not too often.
HOLIDAYS We alternate between the comfort of staying home over the holidays and the excitement of travelling abroad, preferably somewhere warm. Sevilla was what we, very appropriately, chose this year. The Iberian peninsula is Marko’s most favouritest place on Earth, Sevilla especially. After visiting it together years ago, we both like returning to the city, this time with our offsprings.
CELEBRATING The longest night of the year is also the biggest party family. What other people do for Christmas, we usually do on New Year’s Eve – a nice dinner, either alone or with friends and family, fancy clothes and presents the following morning. Dancing, sparklers, the count-down and a neighbourhood pyrotechnics show in between makes the night truly memorable!
GIFTS-GIVING Sha la la la la la, la la la laaaaaa. What is Decembre without presents? Eventhough me and Marko don’t usually bestow exciting gifts on each other for Christmas (or New Year’s), the planning involved in choosing and subsequently wrapping gifts for the rest of the family is enough of a thrill.
SPENDING TIME TOGETHER AND ENJOYING EACH OTHER In the end, having time off work and school to spend it together as a family is my absolute favourite thing. Slowing down the fast pace of our every-day, sleeping in and chilling on the couch while watching a film is what cold snowy days off should be all about.
Happy New Year!