So, it is Christmas today! It kind of depends on the country you live in, because in The Netherlands it is not really Christmas today. Thankfully my parents decided so many families celebrate Sinterklaas, which is a Dutch tradition where lots of presents are opened on 5 December, that it would be more original to go for Christmas eve. I think that decision was great; it meant that when I was little, I would celebrate Sinterklaas at school, and now that I am older, I celebrate Sinterklaas with my boyfriends family. Awesome.

To be honest, I love Christmas way more than Sinterklaas. That doesn’t just have to do with the whole Zwarte Piet/Black Pete drama that is currently dividing our country in two halves (even the United Nations got involved!), but also the fact that it is just more of a celebration. It has more songs, more atmosphere, you actually get a few days off from work and it is spread over multiple days. In my life it usually means going to my parents house for dinner and pressies on the evening of the 24th, and then it is ‘First Christmasday’ on the 25th and ‘Second Christmasday’ on the 26th. Usually we stay over at my parents on the 24th, to have a lovely brunch served on the amazing Mason’s Christmas dishes that I looove. As my boyfriends family lives up north, our First Christmasday usually means that put our fat bodies in a train for 3 hours to reach them.

And then we have a dinner at his parents house, which usually entails the very Dutch thing that is ‘gourmetting’. I have thought very long and hard on how I would explain this to you guys, but in this case a picture really does say it all:

 Source: CoachGourmet.nl

Anyway, usually we sleep over at his parents house, I will do a puzzle called Dr Denker that is always in the newspaper. It is so difficult that it takes at least five family members to figure it all out (we call these puzzles cryptograms) and I always enjoy making my brain boil on these weird puzzles. I love Christmas, it is not the eating, but it is the atmosphere. If there is any time in the year that I am at my best, it is in December. I am still on a high of reviewing way too many video games than is good for me in the months before, it is nice and cold outside and it is lovely to be around family and people that you love.

However! This year I haven’t really been feeling very Christmassy or happy. There is a lot of stuff going on in my life right now that I will probably blog about at some point, but not now. Christmas is not the same because it is not cold but kind of hot outside, and my brother and his wife are on holiday so they will not be there for Christmas eve for the first time in forever. That makes me kind of sad, but I try not to show them too much, as they are going to Canada to visit family (she is Canadian! Awesome, I am super addicted to maple syrup) and I want her lovely, warm family to be together now as well. As long as they don’t do it next year! 😉

I know this is not my best blog ever, but I just wanted to address Christmas for now and tell you guys a little bit on how I spend my Christmas. Enjoy the holidays!