I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. You can read more about it on San’s blog the in between is mine. #nablopomo2022
“Alle Jahre wieder”, “Every year again” is the beginning of a famous German Christmas carol. Every year again Christmas sneaks up on me. I have tried to push the creeping panic down the last couple of days but going shopping, starting to hear Christmas songs on the radio, getting mail, the lights that show up in the windows and in the streets – there is no denying it anymore. I am not a list maker but maybe I should start one?!
The first question that is usually involved with Christmas is already answered: “Are we going to Germany this year to celebrate with the family?” – Answer: “No, we are not.” For me it’s always a hard decision, because I love to visit my family for Christmas but it is also a long way to travel, and it’s dark and wet and cold. This year the school break is not ideal. We struggle with jet lag and I never found a good way around it – so, one miserable week (maybe longer since it’s winter and there are fewer daylight hours), traveling back likely on New Years and then straight back to school followed by another miserable week because of jet lag. I asked the rest of my bunch and my kids said they wanted to be home for Christmas so that’s what we are going to do.
I was briefly thinking about squeezing in a short visit to my dad before. I need to sort through some boxes I still have at his house and I never manage when I go with everyone else (and thought I might sneak in a Christmas market visit). With Covid though I got too nervous about potentially getting sick and being stuck overseas just before Christmas and “celebrating” without my husband and kids.
Since I am not going, that means I need to get my act together if I want to send over some Christmas presents. Mail has become super expensive the last couple of years and before the holidays it takes up to four weeks to get there – that puts me right in the Thanksgiving week and we are not even at home but visiting friends – aaaah.
The only list I usually make is a list with gifts for Christmas but this year I have not even started on that yet. Breath Meike, you can do this.
Deep down I know that everything will work out. I will get out our decorations and make the house festive when we get back after Thanksgiving. I will scour German websites for presents for the family overseas and I will sit down in the next few days to finish the calendar I make every year for the grandparents. We will decorate our front yard with lights (the one thing my husband enjoys about the holiday to keep up with the neighbors) and we will bake cookies (what I now have time for since I am not going to fly to Germany). I even saw that there is a Christmas market in the next town over this year on one weekend. Everything will be good. Maybe not perfect, but sometimes not perfect makes for good memories, too.
Maybe you can help me out with the presents? Any great websites or ideas that you are getting back to over and over again?
Home here and there 
Christmas is…a lot. I’m trying very hard to sort things into the following three categories this year:
1) Things I want to do because they mean a lot to ME.
2) Things I want to do because they mean a lot to PEOPLE I LOVE (not people I like, not people I know…people I LOVE)
3) Things I don’t want to do (and thus, will avoid doing entirely even if it’s “tradition” or even if “everyone else is doing it.”
I really want Christmas to be a time of fun and celebration and it does take work (for example, making photo calendars every year always feels like a drag, but it’s my parents and in-laws favourite gift and so that falls under #2 above) – but too often I get caught up in all sorts of events I don’t want to do (and no one I love cares about). Why?
I don’t want to build gingerbread houses (my kids don’t care), want to visit Santa (kids don’t care) or buy matching PJs for the whole family…so I don’t have to do it!
In terms of gifts, I think I’ll do a few blog posts soon of favourite things from the year/gift ideas, but here are three “gift guides” I did up last year:
http://elisabeth-frost.com/?p=2971 (men)
http://elisabeth-frost.com/?p=2968 (women)
http://elisabeth-frost.com/?p=2978 (kids)
Chris Loves Julia has HUGE gift guides each year and have at least a dozen out already, but my FAVOURITE guides are put out by Young House Love and their 2022 guide just came out today and I’ve already added a few things to my cart for Christmas: https://www.younghouselove.com/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for your thoughtful answer and all those great links Elisabeth! I actually wrote down a couple of things in my calendar (when to do what) and I already feel much better. I do have a priority list and it’s ok if I don’t get to the ones that have low priority it is actually ok.
LikeLike
I don’t have any great ideas for presents, either, and I’m also starting to feel the stress. Other people have their Christmas trees up, cards ordered, and have completed their shopping, and I’m over here wondering if I can make it to Thanksgiving. I think this year I’m sticking to consumables for presents – everyone is getting homemade cookies, socks, and lotion or lip balm. I just don’t have time to think beyond that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think sticking to consumables is a great option (especially the cookies sound enticing). There are quite a few people in my life who already have everything so if I can get them something useful all the better.
LikeLike
I haven’t been home for Christmas in a few years now and I wish we could just go… even for a week, jetlag be damned! It would be nice to see family for the holidays.
Christmas always sneaks up on me to and I haven’t really started on any planing… I should definitely get on that.
As for gifts, esp. ones that you can send to people overseas… I’ve been using Etsy (the German sellers) a lot for unique gifts (that ship within Germany) and I’ve recently discovered “justspices.de”, who sell awesome spice mixes. (I am a fan of gifts that can be used up and don’t add to the clutter of someone’s home).
LikeLiked by 1 person
That website sounds great. I will check it out! I think I am going to opt to order something local this year, too. I like sending packages from here but it has gotten to the point where the price of the package exceeds the content value (that’s why I thought going to Germany before Christmas by myself would be nice). That is also what I tell my family abroad: don;t send anything. One of the packages two years ago took 8 weeks and one did not make it at all.
We do go from time to time. We went last year. I like celebrating with family but I am also a little tired of long trips this year. Science needs to work on the beaming concept!
LikeLike
I know it’s probably sad not to go to Germany for Christmas and see your family- but it does make everything easier, right? I love Christmas but it does get stressful. I’ve been making some lists of gift ideas but haven’t actually purchased anything yet. I’m going to look at the gift guides Elisabeth included in these comments- seems like she is very organized! And yes… you will get everything done. There’s still plenty of time. I want to hear all about the cookie making and the Christmas market- it will be fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think some of the stress for me is that I have to come up with ideas for everyone (I need to work on my delegating skills). My dad always gives me money for everyone and everyone asks me what everyone else in the family is wishing for. It’s exhausting. It would be nice to go to Germany but if I had to choose I would prefer the summer – that also gives us more time to spend with everyone. We will just have a couple of zoom calls again and come up with something fun to do.
Elisabeth gift guides are great and I am trying to post even after November is over so keep your eyes open 😉
LikeLike
Ah dont get me started on gift lists. Honestly I hate making gifts because I always feel I am doing it wrong all the way. No one is happy. So its the biggest stressor for me when it come to Christmas. However not sure what kind of gifts you are looking for but I also have bought things from Etsy (German sellers.) One of my clients is a stationary and gift shop (www.graetz-verlag.de) but it is unique and not fitting for all but calendars, notebooks or door plates, soaps and such might be something. Also if someone loves jewelry https://www.schwester-schwester.de might be worth a look at. It is also a local northern German company.
Hope you can break down all those things on your to-do list and find lots of joyful moments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually like giving gifts it’s just the feeling not to have enough time to get to everything. But I have a friend who has everything and does not want anymore clutter so finding anything for her is tough (she would like the jewelery but she lives in the US). I already feel a little better – sometimes a little venting already helps.
LikeLike
Oh yes, this is so accurate: “Every year again Christmas sneaks up on me.” It happens to me every year as well, as though Christmas were always on a surprise day instead of the same day every year! And I have next to NO ideas for holiday gifts yet this year. I did just order my husband some drinking chocolate from Vosges, though — he loves a good drinking chocolate.
If you are interested, I have posted some gift ideas on my blog — some are for kids, but I do have several “gift guides” from previous pre-Christmas shopping frenzies.
https://lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com/category/gift-ideas/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will definitely check out the gift guides! I at least started to work on the calendar what makes me feel a little better already but I hear you. Funny how it always sneaks up on us – a little like the first snow of the season catches some areas by surprise even though it’s somewhat predictable that it’s coming.
LikeLike
I always forget how much earlier those who have to mail presents overseas have to get started on Christmas! I am really glad that we don’t do gifts for extended family anymore and I have a small nuclear family. We don’t even really do gifts in our friend group, which is nice. It makes the gift-giving process a lot less stressful. I know this time a year is a LOT to deal with for other people. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I calmed down a bit after deciding to order online and buy local. The only thing I still need to do is finish the calendar (also for myself). Everything else has to happen after Thanksgiving now…
LikeLike
OK, true confessions. I am not a Christmas Person. I am, probably, more accurately described as a Scrooge. It helps that I do not have a partner, or kids. But I do have family, living about 1000 miles away, and I keep backing out of Christmas-time trips because a) travel at Christmas is often a nightmare (especially to/from the Midwest) and b) it’s terrible timing for my job (academia, so between semesters). I admire you for your willingness to go all-in for your family and to embrace what you can do, when you can do it. People like you, and all others who love Christmas, do make it a brighter world just when it’s getting cold and dark. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person