Decking the halls

Today I’m “decorating” my apartment with everything red I can find, which isn’t very much, but I’m not really the “Christmas-lights in the windows, reindeers in every corner, trip over the Santa in the hall when you get in” – kind of person anyhow, so it’s ok. I just wish I could get it a little cozier – I should get a rug and a chimney with a bunch of tree logs, turn this place into an old wooden cabin and pretend I live in the woods. Oh well, for now I’ll just wait until the snow decides to come and also until I find out where I can get a hold of a Christmas tree, that should turn this place into and real life Christmas Wonderland!

In a couple of days now it will be the first of December and that means the real Christmas countdown begins. For years now I’ve been very anti-Christmas, actually it’s probably been because of my bad mood this time of year. But this year we are doing something different for the holidays. Instead of me packing my bags and hopping on a northbound plane, my family is heading south and coming down to see me. It’s the first time we’ll be celebrating Christmas together somewhere else than at home, and it’s the first time I’ll be hosting it. Now, you might think this is something you do when you have kids and a big house, but I have no idea if I’ll ever have that and I don’t see the point in waiting for it either. So we are doing the most taboo thing you can in December, we are breaking traditions.

I can’t guarantee it’ll be a huge success, but I do know it’ll be different than what we’re used to, and being a family that’s never really gotten the hang of the whole Christmas thing I think I’ll be really good for us. This way we can try a couple of different types of Christmases over the years and when we find something we like I guess we’ll just stick to it.

Maybe next year we could try going to the Bahamas or Zanzibar or something, although if I’m being totally honest, putting us four together on a difficult to get off island for a week sounds more like a social experiment gone wrong than a jolly family gathering – but who knows, maybe they’d surprise me.