Yes, the 25th of December may have passed, but the Christmas spirit is still in the air. In Joey Green‘s new book, Weird and Wonderful Christmas, he highlights the often strange yet fascinating customs and traditions of cultures around the world.
If the Christmas spirit is still with you, check out the link above along with the book, which I am excited to add to my TBR list!
Tomorrow is the end of the world, and if you are a believer that it will actually happen, then today is a good day to spend time with family. Whether we get along or have a strained relationship with our blood relatives, family is family and they will always be there for us.
The holidays are also a time for family, and those awkward, odd moments are likely to appear during this time.
Check out the slideshow of these awkward holiday family photos and you will surely have a laugh, and maybe even a memory of your own embarrassing family photo shoots!
Oh boy, the holidays are officially here! It’s now time for the Christmas tree, ornaments, lights, and stockings. It’s time to buy and wrap presents, send out our holiday greeting cards, and plan that Christmas day feast!
For me, this is literally the most wonderful time of the year. I love the pine smell, the red, green, and white colors, the family traditions, and that Michigan white Christmas. I look forward to the end of the year holidays, and I thoroughly enjoy spending that time with family and friends.
However, this year, for Christmas 2012, I am away from Michigan, away from the snow, and away from my family. I am celebrating the holidays for the second time in my life away from everything I know and love. I am in Spain, a country who only recently began celebrating Christmas on the 25th – their Christmas (or Reyes as they call it, when the Kings came to see baby Jesus) is celebrated on the 5th of January. I will not see my mother, or my father, or my sister. I was not able to decorate my family Christmas tree, and share in our tradition of watching ‘White Christmas’. I am missing out on a time that is usually so special to me.
However, I can see Rudolph’s red nose at the end of the tunnel. Because though I may not have the regular traditional Christmas I am used to celebrating, I will be surrounded by my boyfriend Sergio, his family, and my cousin and her boyfriend whom are flying out to be with me. So, I am pleased to say that the 2012 holiday season will not be lost!
Here in Pinto, the small town outside of Madrid where my boyfriend and I live, we did manage to bring some Christmas cheer to our small but homey apartment. I had to replace a large yard and rooftop with a small 2nd floor balcony; a real green Christmas tree with a short white fake one; and real cold snow with stick-on snowflakes. It may not be the real thing, but it is our thing.
Our 8 Euro Christmas tree fit inside that box.
We named her Snow White!
The ball of present lights.
Snow White all lit up!
Our favorite – both ghetto and tacky!
España all lit up!
My handy work – and yes, each snowflake is different!
I’m a proud Christmas mama!
The view from the street.
And we can’t forget about Santa, who is riding a lego VW van!
Traditions will always be there, no matter where in the world you may be. And though this may not be my regular traditional holiday decorating, it’s something new that I will forever be able to cherish. So, for this year, goodbye my regular Michigan Christmas, and hello my unique, once in a lifetime Spanish Christmas!
Happy Holidays Everyone and Happy Decorating!
Will you be missing out on any usual holiday traditions this year? If so, let us know in the comment section below!
I loved Christmas books as a child, and I still do! While some of my favorites were simple and cheery such as ‘Noel’ and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’, I must say that some of these weird Christmas books could become my favorites as well!
With these bizarre titles, Christmas stories may never be the same again.
Christmas is coming, so why not splurge on a little bookworm gift ideas for your friends, family, or even yourself!
Some of these are pretty neat, and I’m already looking to get the ”642 Things To Write About” writing prompt book for myself (yes, for myself), so take a look to see what you can find!
I know the holidays have already passed but Christmas is one thing I always look forward to!
I also look forward to vacations, trips, and visiting new countries. And of course, going home to Michigan to see my family is something I always look forward to.
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What’s something that you look forward to?
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*Don’t forget to leave a link of your own answers to the daily question in the comments section below! The photo was taken from thoughtquestions.com.*
Happy Wednesday Readers! Can you believe that Christmas is this Sunday?!
This will be the first Christmas in my entire life where I will not be home for the holidays. There will be no snow, none of my family’s holiday traditions, and no presents underneath my Christmas tree.
Instead of being home for Christmas in Michigan, I will be spending my first Christmas here in Madrid, Spain. Instead of snow, we have rain. Instead of Santa Claus, we have the Three Kings. And instead of opening presents on the 25th, we open presents on the 6th of January.
Yes, it will be an extremely different Christmas, however new Christmas traditions form with age and change. And besides, the best and most important part of the holidays is being with family and loved ones.
Which is why, even though I will not be home, it will still feel like the “most wonderful time of the year” because my family – my sister, mother and step-dad – are here in Spain celebrating the holidays with me!
(from left to right) My sister, my boyfriend, and myself in Madrid.
I have not seen them since October, and after they leave on the 6th of January I will not see them again until summer time, so it is extremely nice to be in their presence for these upcoming 3 weeks!
So, because the holidays are here and I have my family to entertain me, I would like to apologize for my lack of posting yesterday, and warn that in the future – at least for the next 3 weeks – I may not be updating Palm Trees & Bare Feet regularly.
However, I’m sure you won’t be too sad without my regular posting since I’m sure I’m not the only one unable to blog regularly during the holiday season. And besides, with family and friends, hot cocoa and gingerbread, and snowball fights and present giving, we will (at least should) completely forget about the un-realities of the virtual world.
So Happy Holidays All and Merry Christmas!
I Hope This Truly is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year For You!
It’s a time of giving, joy, celebrating with family and friends, decorating the Christmas tree, admiring the festive lights, and yes, Santa Claus.
Here in Spain, Santa became mainstream only recently while for years, and still now, it is the three Kings whom give the children their presents on the 6th of January (the 25th of December is the celebration of Jesus’ birth).
As an American, and a true believer in Santa Claus for my entire childhood, the thought of three Wise Men putting presents underneath the tree is quite absurd. I mean, how do they get there? Where are their flying reindeer? Where do they live the rest of the year? What is their equivalent of the North Pole?
Yes, a red-cheeked fat man coming down the chimney is loco in it’s own way, and to each culture its own, but I’m a fan of good ol’ Santa Claus.
I love the spirit of Christmas mainly because of Santa. Ever seen Polar Express? If not, you must. Santa, for me, is not just some jolly never-dying guy who brings presents. Santa represents the magical time of the holidays, the constant joy this time of year that seems to elude us during the other months, and the reminder that it is OK to believe.
This is the reason why I love Santa Claus, even at the age of 21. In my personal opinion, I feel that every child should experience the magic of Santa, his reindeer and the North Pole. My parents never actually told us that Santa did not exist. As my sister and I got older, we just simply grew out of believing that he was a literal being - and of course we heard the non-existence of our favorite man from mean school bullies – and knew that those presents under the tree, even the ones which still said “From Santa” were actually from our loving parents.
However, the magic and believing in the spirit of Christmas never left us, and still to this day, Santa equals magic for me. Which is why I believe that children should never be told that there is no Santa.
What is so wrong with letting them believe this one little thing while the rest of their world turns into constant stress, money, and worries? If I ever met a grown man/woman whom still believed in Santa, I would never laugh, taunt or tease them. No, I would bow down to them, maybe even propose, because in the sad, greedy world we live in, what’s the matter with believing in just a little magic and spirit?
All of the above got me thinking once I saw an article on the Huffington Post about a news anchor, who live on the air with children watching, said that there was no Santa Claus.
Watch it here:
Quite sad, isn’t it? People were quite pissed at her comment and of course, I agree! It is the parent’s job to tell their children about Santa, not someone who bluntly says, on the news, that “there is no Santa”.
So, what are your takes on all of this? Do you think children need to know the “truth” about Santa at a certain age, or is it OK to let the children grow out of it on their own? If you have kids, what age, if yet, did you explain to them about Santa?
