Because Ryan and I are away from our families this Christmas, I've been doing my best to make it extra-special. This has been a bit of a challenge as Christmas does not seem to be nearly as big a holiday in India as in the US. So here are some of the ideas we've had for making it feel like Christmas, as well as what we'll be doing to celebrate.
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This is our Christmas Ficus!
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Some of the lights we bought were actually called "Diwali Lights", but they still work well! It definitely helped make the place feel more festive.
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I've been doing some baking to make sure we get the traditional sugar rush over the holidays. This is our Christmas trifle. Unfortunately, I don't have my trifle dish, so it looks a little sad in the Tupperware. Plus, I have not seen any berries anywhere, so it's just made with jam.
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I'm also baking some Christmas cupcakes, which Ryan and I will decorate together tonight. (I couldn't find thee necessary ingredients for cookies, so cupcakes it is!) The candies there are like M&Ms, and I just picked out the Christmasy colors (and ate the rest!).
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And finally, here's our festive living room. We even have a fruit cake! (Ryan thought he was buying a chocolate cake, and was apologetic when he found out the truth. I think it's OK though because when I think of fruit cake, I think of Christmas!)
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So, for Ryan's sake, since he let me plan our festivities and has not yet seen what we'll be up to, here is our schedule for the next several days:
Christmas Eve
Decorate Christmas cupcakes
Watch Christmas movie(s)*
Christmas Day
Read Luke 2
Open gifts
Make snowflakes and Santas
Talk to families online
Read a Christmas story
Watch Christmas movie(s)
Friday
Dinner at our favorite restaurant!
Read a Christmas story
Watch Christmas movie(s)
Sunday
Church
Make resolutions
Read a Christmas story
Watch Christmas movie(s)
*Choices of Christmas movies: Elf Love Actually Four Christmases White Christmas The Muppet Christmas Carol Miracle on 34th Street It's a Wonderful Life A Christmas Story A Charlie Brown Christmas