Silvester : New Year's Eve 2011

It is the same thing every year...

The same rituals mixing German and Philippine traditions.

The Philippine traditions include: prominently displayed nine (some says 12, some says 13) different kinds of rounded fruits, the wearing of dotted clothes, some coins in our pockets, and creating noise: all done for good luck.

The German traditions are: watching the comedy skit 'Dinner for One' on TV, the Bleigissen ritual involving a molten lead, the table fireworks spitting out good luck mini figurines, those giant pretzels, the chimney sweeper figures, the clover plants, the lady bug chocolates and the marzipan pigs. Of course, those things are supposed to bring luck, too.

Then we have our Raclette dinner which this year are planned by the girls. The menu includes: mini burger, beef, chicken, shrimps, bell pepper, mushrooms, cheese, pineappple, toast, bacon, tomatoes. Side dishes include green salad and Jasmine rice. Dessert is maybe just something like this.
And the drinks. Let us not forget them. The girls loved our Christmas cocktail drinks (non-alcoholic for them) that they wanted more... They want the orange-grape punch which is just a mixture of orange and dark grape juice with slices of peaces. But instead I am doing this.

orange-grape punch

For my husband and I, there's Kir Royal for apperitif which I am mixing for the first time and Sekt (Prosecco), of course!

The girls are ready to stay up until midnight. What are their plans to keep awake? Here's their list: disco, karaoke, tv watching, games, not to mention -- eating and drinking binges!! Therefore I am preparing fingerfood such as dates on bacon, mini pastete (tarts), and mixed nuts/chips.

To greet 2012, we have table fireworks and some kiddie-safe noise makers such as paper horns and the pots and pans :-). Ok, ok. Yesterday we bought some fireworks, choosing those smaller and easier to handle.

And we plan to keep Rikki on a leash as the noise might scare her. We don't want to spend the early hours of 2012 looking for her in the woods!

Happy New Year to All!

The Christmas Gifts

My girls are absolutely easy to please :-)

The noticed that they compared before, they don't have too many gifts under the Christmas tree. You see, Oma and Opa are not there anymore plus other things but let's not get into that.

But they don't care. The glee they showed in opening their Christmas presents are enough to let us know that they love their gifts.

I made the gifts a bit more exciting, more dramatic. You see, we just got a second-hand computer for the girls. My husband and I got it ready a day before Christmas Eve and decided to place it in the corner of our work area. From that day on, the girls are not allowed to enter that room. IC was a little nosy though...

On Christmas Eve, during the traditional Christmas stroll of the girls with their Papa; as the designated Christkind assistant, I made everything Christmas ready. I created a short note and placed a Santa hut and ribbons around the the monitor. I turned off the lights and placed candles in strategic places.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the candle lights (and the Christmas lights, of course) and I led them to their first 'Christmas gift' destination accompanied by the ringing of a Christmas bell. I could feel the excitement of the girls as I asked them to blow the candles everytime they pass one.

Then the surprise:

The girls love it!

Then we marched to the living room. Under the Christmas tree are gifts, too. We asked the girls to distribute the presents. They proceeded to give their gifts to Rikki first. Our dog showed her appreciation for the toys by running around with them.

Then the girls presented their gifts to us. The best of which are some drawings and a box full of lists including promises to help in the household chores, for breakfast in bed, and to dance with :-)

After distributing the gifts for everyone, they started opening their own gifts. I was amazed by their patience and generosity because despite their excitement (IC's been asking me to call the Christkind to bring the gifts as early as 7 am!!!); they handed-out our presents first.

They loved their presents, as I have already said. I gave in and brought them Monster High dolls but I as I told them, I would never buy them those horrible accessories. It is now a few days after Christmas and they still rave over their gifts.

And this year, I never heard them asking for any handheld electronic gadgets at all. I guess that's  because they already know the rules (only if they could buy those gadgets with their own money) and because they are have re-discovered the magic of their digital cameras again. They were taking photographs and videos of their gifts almost daily.

P.S. IC actually discovered me with hands full of gifts when she came back to pick-up the forgotten treats for Rikki before their stroll. She grinned and left. I acted as if nothing was wrong. IC acted the same, even during the gift-giving. It turned out that after seeing me, she whispered to her Papa that she definitely knows who the Christkind is!!! She hasn't talked to me about it yet. But as I already declared, I am just the helper!

Christmas Parties

This year, I attended three very important Christmas parties.

The first one was MC's Class Christmas Party.

Followed by IC's Class Christmas Party.

And the girls' Voltigieren (Vaulting) Christmas Party.

But the best Christmas Parties were those spontaneous ones. No programs, no drinks, no food, no decors. Just pure fun...

Those that we celebrate during our Christmas traditional baking, those cheers as we decorated our Christmas tree, those times we created Christmas cookies with friends, those laughs while watching Christmas movies together, those simultaneous singing of Christmas songs while listening to the radio, those glasses we raised as we tasted new drink mixes, those meals that made our mouth water as we waited for the festivity...

Everyday's a party, Christmas season or not! The important thing is having fun!