I'm sure everyone can agree, Christmas went by far too quickly this year. I don't know about you guys, but between my parents visiting the beginning of December and having a jam packed party-filled 6 days leading up to Christmas, I feel like D and I need a vacation after our holiday. Restful and relaxing it was not...memory filled, though? To the brim! This was our very last Christmas abroad in Germany...sad but true. While we're so looking forward to getting back to celebrating holidays with our close family and friends, we're both really going to miss these quiet Christmas mornings, just the two of us opening gifts and being silly. Being away from family and all the Christmas traditions we hold dear has been hard these last few years, but D and I have also learned to adapt and create fun traditions for our 'someday family' to share. Now, I'm not saying ditch your grandma and hole up alone for Christmas, but if you've never experienced a Christmas just you and your spouse, maybe give it a go one year? It's amazing how not alone you can feel on Christmas when you spend it with your best friend and partner in crime! This Christmas was no exception.
On Christmas Day, D and I slept in, pilfered through the stockings (and winter beers) Santa so thoughtfully left under our tree, made our favorite Christmas Day monkey bread and sausage breakfast (with a side of yummy peppermint mochas), opened gifts from Santa and each other (yes, Santa still visits our house!) with Christmas Vacation blaring in the background, cooked my famous mac & cheese and carried holiday treat bags over to a friends house for a Christmas Day Pajama Party, and we spent the evening playing White Elephant gift exchange, Christmas carol Win, Lose, or Draw, and sharing stories of Christmases past with our adoptive family here in Germany. D even scored a brand spanking new laptop he had NO CLUE Santa was getting him. The joy on his face was worth every hassle of Christmas. Even though it's mostly a blur, our last Christmas abroad was a pretty special one. Tell me, how was your Christmas?