We initially had a hard time feeling like it was almost Christmas, for several reasons--warm weather, no family, not buying Christmas gifts, few decorations (though we did receive a lovely tree!). It did help when I found a US radio station to stream live Christmas music to my computer. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I really was able to turn my attention more to "the reason for the season", the fact that Jesus is with us. For that reminder, I am thankful.
Knox had a Christmas Eve service, a family service focused on the kids. They played a funny video of the Christmas story acted out with Legos, there was a song and dance routine, some Christmas carols (2 of which were sung differently than we know them), and a silly skit put on by Kris and one of the other children's leaders. That evening, the four of us had a nice meal of ham, asparagus, sweet potato casserole (people here can't imagine sweet potatoes with marshmallows and brown sugar!), creamy veggies, and brandy snaps for dessert.
On Christmas morning, a beautiful sunny day, we attended church again (another new thing for us), with more carols and a message about Jesus. After the service we went home and Skyped our families, though it was still Christmas Eve for them. We had Christmas lunch at the pastor's house--lamb with mint sauce and gravy, potatoes and sweet potatoes, cranberries, peas, asparagus, and strawberry spinach salad. The best part was the dessert--a yummy pavlova with ice cream, hot raspberry sauce, and chocolate shell syrup! We had a lovely afternoon with them, and we are blessed to be well taken care of by them. All in all, though it was a different Christmas than we are used to, it was very special!
The day after Christmas is Boxing Day, which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. For some crazy reason, we decided we needed a few things from the mall, so we braved the traffic downtown and in the parking garage, and then braved the foot traffic in the mall. I have to say that rivals the Black Friday madness in the US!
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