Christmas?

Today is Wednesday December 19th, 2012.  It is less than a week before the 25th and I am frustrated with the internet in my apartment while I should be thinking about Christmas.  At least I sat down intending to think about Christmas, but the dragons distracted me and then that took longer than it should have because my internet sucks, see above.  So I have set down the game and am trying to think about Christmas again.

As I know I have mentioned before, Turkey is not completely devoid of Christmas.  Not only are there plenty of expats who bring Christmas with them, but also, the Turks are too smart to pass up an opportunity for a party.  Santa Claus is on his way here (hey, he came from Turkey originally) he just gets a little bit extra time to arrive since he is not expected until January 1st, bringing presents on New Years day.  Some folks have lights up, some have trees (and a few of those are real), there is even a decorated Christmas tree in the main entrance way to school.  There are Santa adds on bus shelters, there are decorations for sale at the grocery store and there is a festive atmosphere in the air.  The difference is the volume.  Where at home the Christmas atmosphere would be turned up to 8 or 9 by now, here it is at a more comfortable 2 or 3.  I am sure this low level background is part of why I don't really feel in the Christmas mood yet.  Which is what got me to thinking about Christmas two paragraphs ago.

What do I need to do to feel like it is Christmas?  Here are ten things that are part of what it means to be Christmas to me and how they are helping (or not) to make it feel like Christmas.

1) Following an advent calendar - nope, I have two of them and I am pretty good about opening doors on one of them and watching animations on the other, but anticipation: not building.

2) Sitting in front of a Christmas tree - this almost worked.  I have been at Maura's a few times since her tree has been decorated and up and I feel like its helping...maybe I haven't stared at it quite long enough.  Maybe I just need more trees.

3) Making caramels - two batches done, lots of happiness spread around school, surprises in boxes and smiles at lunch, it is genuine, but it isn't adding up to Christmas.  Maybe if I made a thousand different types of cookies it would help...

4) Sending Christmas cards - usually this is a big deal, lots of printing, folding stamping and relearning how to use the mail merge and label maker functions on word, followed by the very satisfying trip to the post office to feed the blue box stacks and stacks of envelopes.  This year I sent 9, just the international cards.  My dad was great and took care of the 98 American addresses.  I guess what they say about 'no pain, no gain' is true; I didn't get the warm fuzzies in the same way because I didn't get the cotton tongue from licking envelopes or the paper cuts from folding letters.

5) Holiday parties - this year may be my all time record for parties.  I have been to three so far and I have three more this weekend alone.  It is a bit difficult, however, to tell the difference between a friendly get together of colleagues and a holiday party around here.  I pretty much see the same people in slightly different groupings all the time, so I blame lack of novelty for the party's lack of impact.

6) Gifts - I have a great secret Santa this year and I think I am doing all right with my secret Santee as well.  This has certainly been a fun part and has done its fair share for getting me in the mood.  I did all of my Christmas present preparations last summer, wrapping and labeling and distributing while I was home, so I largely feel removed from the gift giving aspect of the season.  I look forward to hearing what people thought of my gifts when they do get to open them. I have a small pile of gifts to me that my folks brought in November to open on Christmas day, so that will be nice, but they are not slowly accumulating under the tree building anticipation.

7) Speaking of trees - One of the advent calendars I have is in the shape of a tree so I didn't bother unrolling the tree I made last year from the back of a poster for an event that had passed.  There is no pine smell, no ornaments to remind me of various adventures I have taken over the years, perhaps my lack of tree is one of the biggest contributors to my lack of Christmas spirit.

 I put it up just so I could take a picture of it to include here... forcing me one step closer to the Christmas spirit.

8) Gingerbread houses - ok, so I have never made a gingerbread house, but it was a long standing tradition of mine to make graham cracker houses and without graham crackers, that became petite fours houses.  They came out pretty well even though Turkey doesn't have the same variety of candy decorations available at home.  The process is always the best part and I appreciated folks that took the construction seriously.

The houses, and their creators, taken in low light with an ipad, but you get the idea.  

9) Christmas Carols - played 'em, sung 'em, played 'em again. Somehow my ipod only has three Christmas albums on it, so I have listened to them a couple of times.  Then I found an "All Christmas, All the Time" internet radio station, but turned them off when the 5th different rendition of "I'll be Home for Christmas" was making more depressed than I wanted to be.   The best dose of Christmas carols I got was at the Union Church service last Sunday.  Their Christmas concert included medleys of most of the old favorites.  Some of them were just teasers, I definitely haven't gotten my fill of Christmas Carols yet.

10) Family - This is the one that is missing if I limit my definition of family to people related to me.  If I open it up to people related to each other and nice to me, I am not so completely devoid of it as might first appear.  I have spent time with Lisa and her husband, Maura and her daughter and tonight, tonight it was kid city.  Elijah and Milo, Lucy, Oscar and Libby, Gabi and Lara, and those were just the kids under 10, they all had parents as well, then there was Sue, Tom and their sons, Jesse and TL, who are really adults, and then to make me feel a little less alone in my aloneness there were a couple other unaccompanied majors there as well.  I don't usually like children and am particularly opposed to ones that scream, but somehow I warmed to the chaos this evening.  The girls were coloring at the table and I was chatting with Tamara.  When I told her I wasn't really in the Christmas mood, she set out to change that and suggested that we draw something Christmassy.  Immediately the girls wanted to help, which attracted the boys, and pretty soon all the kids (except Libby who was too small) were gathered around contributing to my Christmas cheer.

We ended up making a big chaotic mess of Christmas and I think it finally worked.  It is starting to feel a bit like Christmas.

Christmas

The artists and their multiple personalities.