Putting Up The Tree

With Thanksgiving in the back window, it's time to get ready for Christmas. Today was spent eating, putting up the tree, watching movies, and playing games. In other words, it was a perfect day. 27 days until the big event. Are you ready? I am most definitely not. But I'm getting there.

Baby Grinch

He puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store! Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!

We had a Whoville Cookie Exchange at KB on Saturday, and this little sweetie was the hit of the party. No explanations necessary. I think maybe our hearts all grew three sizes that day.

Tis The Season...

I put the tree up today. It's official...so let the countdown begin. Only 27 more days until Christmas! Oh, dear. Only 27 more days until Christmas! Someone had better get busy...

Merry Christmas! Gelukkig Kerstfeest!

We decided to do something special for our first Christmas Eve in Belgium. To start off the evening, we went to a candlelight service over at Kleine Brogel. It was an evening of fellowship, singing, and yummy treats for all! After the service, we headed out for more holiday fun. The town of Bocholt was holding a traveling live nativity on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I'd never heard of anything like this, so I really wanted to check it out. It was very cool!

The Romans led a procession through the streets of Bocholt...some were on foot, and others were on their trusty steeds. Despite what history tells us, they were a friendly bunch. The pilgrimage ended at the city gates. The Romans opened the gates and let the people into the city. The entire evening was narrated in Nederlands (Dutch). The story is the traditional one, so you can pretty much figure out what's going on. Surprisingly, all of the songs that the choir sang at the end of the night were in English. We appreciate that. This is Mary and Joseph, being told not too kindly that there was just no room at the Inn. The program was very impressive. You moved from one scene to the next in the centrum of town. There were little fires here and there, so you could stop for a little bit and warm up if you felt the need. The program was over a little before 10 pm, and then the Roman guards led the people into the church for the evening service. We took a peek inside, but didn't stay for the service. Churches are so beautiful here. The amount of hand carved details inside is amazing! Back home and into bed we went, dreaming of Santa coming to make his deliveries...We had a fantastic Christmas morning. I'll spare you the pictures of everyone in their jammies. The kids were thrilled with their yearly haul, and are now playing games and enjoying their spoils. The scent of baking ham fills the air, and we are all anticipating our big Christmas meal. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a glorious New Year! If 2009 was half as great for you as it was for us, then you are very blessed indeed!

The Aachen Christmas Market

My friends and I headed out to Aachen, Germany, this morning to check out their Christmas Market. It was a little chilly and overcast, so we made a quick pit stop at the local Starbucks. Mmmmmm. Toffee Nut Lattes. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the mugs were HUGE! All warmed up and boosted by caffeine, we headed out to explore the market. It was a blast! They had little wooden stalls all around the city center, and each one contained a different surprise. They sold everything from jewelry and clothing, to candles and Christmas decorations.

There were lots of food booths all over the Market. This one had sausages that were at least 2 feet long! The window of the Nobis Bakery is always bright and cheerful. This is the place that I bought those Hedgehog Gingerbread cookies on my last trip to Aachen. I didn't pick up any on this trip. It will give me an excuse to return soon.

This booth had some beautiful little houses. I can see why lots of people collect these. They were VERY tempting!This is a large pancake, filled with fresh apple slices. It was fantastic! We also had some delicious deep fried potato patties that were served with different sauces. We chose one that tasted a lot like Ranch dip. YUM! Here are the ladies from Team Van! Erika, Melissa and I are totally rocking the red (cranberry) hat look! Denise couldn't make this trip, so that is her honorary hat. This way, she is still included in the fun. Yes, we did get some funny looks as we strolled around the market, styling our new matching hats. I'm good with that.

I think one of the things that made this market so much fun, was the backdrop of beautiful and historic buildings. This is a beautiful city, no matter what time of year you visit. Too soon, it was time to head back to Belgium and greet the kids as they got off their buses.

I did pick up a few fun Christmas items. Here are a couple of things that I got...I couldn't resist the Hoody Santa's. Erika picked up some of these from this market on her last trip, and this was one of the reasons I wanted to visit there. I think he is just too cute. I couldn't resist the owl either. I figured he was great, because he could hang out long after Christmas is gone. I picked up Mr. and Mrs. Clause at a little shop in Belgium on the way home. They were too cute to resist as well. I got a few more items, but they are Christmas surprises, so you'll just have to imagine how cute they are. Another fun day on my European vacation, um...I mean...another day supporting my hard working husband as he fulfills his duties...aw, heck. These are your tax dollars at work, people. Such is life. I do appreciate it.

The Christmas Pickle

My folks will not be at all surprised that I bought this ornament. Pickles were the main part of my diet growing up. Dill, of course. (I wouldn't waste my time eating those sweet pickles.) Remember those HUGE individually packaged dill pickles that they sold at the 7-Eleven? Yep. Those were the best. Ahhhhh.... Anyway, that's not the reason I bought this ornament. It's all about tradition. A few traditions, in fact. Our Christmas tree is not a show piece. It's not a perfect, expensively decked out, museum quality, "stay back or you might accidentally touch something" sort of tree. It's a family tree. The tree, itself, has seen better days. Russ and I bought it for our first Christmas together, almost 20 years ago, and it wasn't expensive even then. It's been put up, taken down, taped up, and shipped all over the United States. And now to Europe...Belgium. It's been grabbed by babies and climbed by cats. Some of the limbs are sagging. (One is held together by black electrical tape and a prayer.) Each year I say, "This is the last year for this tree, and after Christmas... I'm tossing it out." Each year it gets disassembled and put back in it's box. "Maybe next year," I say. It's tradition. It's ornaments are special as well. Some are hand crafted ones that the kids made at school over the years. Some have been given to us over the years by family and friends, each one chosen with care in remembrance of a special event, a memory, or because some one's favorite color was blue that year. Some of them we bought, as souvenirs from places that we have seen. I have a moose from Yellowstone, a space shuttle from The Kennedy Space Center in Florida, snow shoes from Alaska...the list goes on. Each year, as we take them out and put them on the tree, we get to remember those places, the things we saw, and the friends that we made there. It's tradition. I like ornaments with a story, as well. I picked up this pickle ornament on a recent trip to Germany. It has a tradition, too. In Germany, when the Christmas tree is decorated, the pickle is always put on last. The parents hide it in the green boughs among the other ornaments. When the kids were allowed to see the tree for the first time, whoever found the pickle first was given an extra gift left by St. Nicholas for being the most observant child. If there are several children in the family, sometimes more than one pickle is hidden in the tree. A large pickle for the smaller children, and a small pickle (harder to find) for the older ones. I like that, so the pickle was added to our collection of ornaments. Next year, when I take my tired old tree out of it's box, assemble it once again, and start decorating it, I'll remember this. It's tradition.