Merry Christmas (Eve!) everybody!

Post by **merry** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 9:33 am

What's going on in YOUR house right now?

Hope our American friends are not struggling too much with the weather today - on the News they were showing people throwing up boiling water into the air and seeing it freeze immediately!

Mr merry is leaving to collect STPD at Ashchurch in 15 minutes! the kids have gone to do the HHs and will be here at lunchtime. Tonight is our special Christmas meal as described in Other Topic and before that we have Carols From Kings in the pink room by candlelight with the Tree lit up. We used to have it with Mulled Wine but sadly (because I love the smell) no-one likes it now so it will be orange juice or beer

I'm struggling with EvilPrinter to print last-minute stuff. It smelled my fear I'm afraid and is playing up like billy-o.

Hope we all have a lovely day, wherever we are! come and post if you have a moment and we'll do a Christmas Day one tomorrow.

Oh and if anyone gets a chance to pop into the chatroom..... I'll try a couple of times.

TRavine · Post by **TRavine** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:59 am

Merry Christmas (Eve) everyone!

I have spent the morning doing the predicted last-minute shopping, wrapping gifts and writing Christmas cards. We are almost done with preparing our Christmas dinner and then my mom will set the table and do some more decorating.

Since I'm down with a pretty bad cold, I'll probably take a nap in the afternoon (lol) to be somewhat okay for the evening celebration.

We will go out and get the Christmas light (a candlelight brought to Austria from Bethlehem and "distributed" to all the towns, so people can light their candles and lanterns with it and take it home), then we'll do a quick "visit" to the cemetery, in the late afternoon to say "hi" to our dearly beloved who are not amongst us anymore.

And then we'll have our Christmas dinner, light the tree, do some singing (hopefully, if my voice is cooperative) and unwrap our gifts. We do all of it on Christmas Eve in Austria. The 25th is basically about sleeping in and meeting extended family later in the day.

I hope you'll all have a wonderful time with your families and loved ones!

OurCreature · Post by **OurCreature** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:42 am

then we'll do a quick "visit" to the cemetery, in the late afternoon to say "hi" to our dearly beloved who are not amongst us anymore.

The Icelanders are a bit like that at Christmas; not only do they visit the cemetery for that purpose but they also like the ancestors to join in - so in many areas the headstones at the graves are festooned with Christmas lights. I drove from the airport north of Keflavík to Reykjavík one year (I was there for New Year) and one cemetery was absolutely ablaze with Christmas lights - it all looked very jolly! Here's a cemetery out in the countryside - I'm a bit annoyed because I don't know where it is, and it's in a thread where Icelanders are said to be complaining about the Visit Reykjavík publicists trying to turn cemetery Christmas lights into tourist attractions; they think it is disrespectful to the dead. I must say I'm inclined to agree about the tourist angle even though I've used what might be a tourist-taken picture.

I hope your cold eases off, Tom, and lets you enjoy your Weihnacht!

And I've stopped being annoyed with myself because I spotted the cemetery entrance, so I know this pic is on Heimaey in the Westmann Islands just off the south coast of Iceland; they had a big eruption here in 1973 which made a new volcanic cone and destroyed some of the town.

And a Merry Christmas to us all.

Forsteriaana30 · Post by **Forsteriaana30** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 6:16 pm

Merry Christmas (Eve) you all!

Well, usually in my family we celebrating Christmas in 24th December in Latvia (like in Austria too), but not this year, 'cuz I worked today and need to yet decorate Christmas tree.

Anyway, tomorrow we will celebrate. We always meeting to my older sister's private house which is outside to Ogre. She lives in very peaceful and beautiful place too. Maybe someday I will take a pics and show you. So we meet, then we'll have our Christmas dinner, then we unwrapping gifts, maybe singing Christmas songs (depends from mood) and just enjoying our company. I love this family time. It's wonerful!

Patience · Post by **Patience** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 8:28 pm

I’m not a big fan of Christmas. I’m spending today watching Inspector Borowski with Lopsie.

Post by **merry** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:07 pm

I loved reading all these posts when my family finally left tonight.

All our different ways of celebrating/spending the day! I'd love to collect the Christmas Light, like Tom did, that's just the sort of Christmas tradition I love. And Fossy has a lovely Christmas day tomorrow with her sister and family.

OC that looks beautiful.

Lopsie looks as if she is having the best Christmas day ever.

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 7:14 am

I finally have a chance to update!

I made peppermint meringues in the morning. We wrapped a ton of presents, and P even got a kid here and there to help (not with their own, mind you). I ran errands with my youngest daughter...I hadn't planned to go out for a long time, but it turned out to be longer due to disorganization and indecision.

I made supper, and then I said that I wanted to bake. So I did...double chocolate cookies with M&Ms and white chips, strawberry cream cookies, and cut and baked anise icebox cookies. I think that's it, but it took me all evening. I wanted to make chocolate haystacks and bark. I might do the bark tomorrow morning. Usually I bake earlier and wrap later.

Peter and Asher are playing trumpet tomorrow morning...they have to go to church early. P and I are thinking that I'll stay home with Silas in the morning. The kids were worried about him acting up in church when it's full and a holiday. But I will miss out on it...I could leave a kid, but there's things to do here. Thank goodness for youtube services.

ME

Post by **merry** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:15 am

peppermint meringues

MIM! I'M ON MY WAY! I absolutely love the sound of Mimosa's wonderful baking

Well after the grand excitements of Christmas Eve (pics to follow later) we have a quieter Christmas Day... not present-opening till tomorrow when Sam will be back with us.

But we're having the full turkey etc lunch so in a minute I must put the oven on.

I love that your family are so musical, Mimosa! this afternoon we are going to try and video at least one Christmas song/carol for Tom and his family. I'll put it on here if it comes out ok!

Forsteriaana30 · Post by **Forsteriaana30** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:31 pm

So I'm back in home from my family Christmas celebration and here's a few pics from it. So first is Christmas tree. It's my sister's. She and her family decorated it and always they're doing it so beautiful and wonderful. I love their Christmas tree.

And this is Christmas tree with candle lights.

This is my sister's yard. Hope it can understand.

Well, something like that. Enjoy!

TRavine · Post by **TRavine** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:41 pm

That truly is a most beautiful tree, Fossy!!!

I hope you had a wonderful time with your family!! ❤

Forsteriaana30 · Post by **Forsteriaana30** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:47 pm

TRavine wrote: ↑Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:41 pm That truly is a most beautiful tree, Fossy!!!
I hope you had a wonderful time with your family!! ❤

Thank you, Tom.

Yes, I had and it was so wonderful time. We will celebrate New Year together again to my older sister. We always waiting together!

Post by **merry** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:51 pm

What beautiful pictures, Fossy! I loved those! the tree is lovely and that last pic is just so beautiful with the ice and snow... it looks as if there is magic in the air....

We had a lovely day today. I've got pics to post but in a couple of days....

Santa came! (he was allowed a very special heirloom Thelwell glass ...)

Forsteriaana30 · Post by **Forsteriaana30** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:58 pm

merry wrote: ↑Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:51 pm What beautiful pictures, Fossy! I loved those! the tree is lovely and that last pic is just so beautiful with the ice and snow... it looks as if there is magic in the air....

Thank you, merry.

Yeah, that tree really is very lovely. So true.

How sweet. Thanks. Maybe it is. Who knows!

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Mon Dec 26, 2022 11:10 pm

Thanks for all the pictures of your Christmases! Loved it.

Our day was pretty crazy. No time to chat if there was one.

I woke early and arranged my cookie tray. When everyone awake (except Silas), we opened our stockings. Then we got ready for church. I stayed home with Silas and made bread, watched the service, and saw/heard P and A play the trumpet. Poor P is "getting old" and he can't reach the high notes like he used to (he asked his doctor about that once...losing muscle tone)...so that was interesting...poor guy had a moment, and because he was doing it himself, Asher wasn't playing. There was a coffee social afterwards.

When everyone got home we opened up our "hat" people...I had my eldest daughter, and P had me! Super fun time and lots of laughs. Time for lunch, and getting the turkey ready, giving the girls staying home with Silas dinner instructions for the afternoon.

Afterwards we had our company come over; we got our dinner finished, had it late. When it was time for gift opening (despite the fact that we had "company", but it was family company, my sister called from Australia and they hung out through the entire process...lol, so that got awkward with my phone...switching from person to person, until my router time expired.

We had dessert...advocaat, jello with whipped cream, and truffles and leftover cookies. I didn't have a fancy dessert; I didn't think hard enough on that score. Someday I'll make a yule log dessert.

Lots of blurry pictures due to my crappy camera, and all of present opening.

ME

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:41 pm

Here's my husband and son playing in church with me the Sunday before. I think it was when they choose not to play the second verse just in case those deacons were done soon, and I'd have to do something funky to get to the end before switching to the last song.

ME

TRavine · Post by **TRavine** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:43 pm

Oh, that's lovely. Wow, your son is all grown up!

I bet you all did a wonderful job!

Forsteriaana30 · Post by **Forsteriaana30** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:49 pm

How wonerful, mim. Very nice pic and your family too!

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