Wrapping Up Christmas

Our family had an absolutely lovely Christmas day. Everyone was feeling better and felt ready to celebrate (I thankfully never got sick). The only thing that could have made it any better was if our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren could have been here as well, but pictures were sent from Japan and they had quite the celebration there. Plus, we will be seeing them in less than a month and a half and getting to spend three full months living nearby in Japan, and I’m already excited about that.

All of our gifts for the girls were purchased during our travels. Weight was always an issue, but we managed to stuff their stockings with candy from various countries, socks from Switzerland, “purse supplies” (tissue, lip gloss, China balm and hand creme from our favorite store in Europe, Flying Tiger), and also gave them some much-appreciated cash. They each received a wool beret from Paris, and WenYu and YaYu got a scarf/shawl from France as well (Meiling got a shirt as she doesn’t wear scarves). Meiling and WenYu each got cashmere lined leather gloves from Florence and YaYu got a small gold pendant of a plumeria blossom because she doesn’t wear leather. And, we gave each a hand-painted tile and a big ceramic mug from Portugal. Both Brett and I got lovely, useful and lightweight (!) gifts from the girls included some new (and needed) clothing items.

This year no one woke up before 9:30 a.m., and we didn’t get started on our celebration until after 10:00. I don’t think we’ve ever slept in so late, but it made for a long, relaxing Christmas morning and afternoon. We watched Harry Potter films together in the afternoon, relaxed some more and then enjoyed a yummy ham dinner in the evening followed by more Harry Potter movies. Yesterday morning we went out for dim sum before each girl headed out to spend time with friends, and Brett and I stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up some milk, eggs and bread.

But the holiday is over and it’s time to get ready for the new year. The paper and wrappings have been recycled or thrown away. The poinsettia and pine swag limped through the day but have now been composted.

We had a perfect Christmas though, most of all because we were together. Our current dwelling is small and not very fancy, but with all of us here we’ve made it a home, and were able to maintain many of our family’s Christmas traditions. We couldn’t have asked for more than that.