There's actually not much to be said today...

except for...

to you and your families! Don't stress yourself out! Perfection is unimportant and boring, at least for today... just be merry and enjoy each other's company!

Christmas Countdown 2015 - Part 1

Totensonntag, the last Sunday before Advent (the sunday on which the dead are commemorated), has come and gone, which means that Christmas isn't that far away any more. In a month, it'll me Christmas Eve!

I suppose it's similar in all the families, but as I learned it from my Mom who learned it from my grandmother (who probably learned it from her mother):  

You just don't start decorating before Totensonntag! 

No way! No matter what! And no matter what other people do.

I stick to that rule, though every year around Totensonntag, the decorating fever gets hold of me. You see so many nice decorations everywhere you look, on the web, in magazines, in stores, in books... there's no chance to escape the inspiration! 

So during the past two days, some tiny Christmas items have popped up in our living room... I hadn't planned to get anything new this year except the candles for our advent wreath (hello - after all, I'm in the process of decluttering the house!!!). But then, when I went candle shopping, i just couldn't resist to get a few more tiny things...

Sometimes you just need to treat youself to something new. And I'm sure these tiny things will make wonderful memories!

Plan With Me: Christmas in a Shoe Box

Every year for the past eight years or so, my mom & I have packed a christmas parcel for a child we don't know and probably will never meet. 

Why is that?

There's a campaign called "Weihnachten im Schuhkarton" ("Christmas in a Shoe Box") in the German version, their international name is "Operation Christmas Child". People in industrialized countries pack Christmas boxes that are transported to children in need in not-so-rich-countries by volunteers. The German parcels usually go to kids in Eastern Europe. You pack your box, wrap it in christmas wrapping paper and bring it to one of the local collection points, and from there, Operation Christmas Child takes over and organizes the rest.

So what do you include in those boxes? For example small toys, school supplies, clothing or toiletries. And of course - chocolate!

Just to give you a few figures: This year, there are about 5.000 collection points in Germany alone, and in 2014, Germans packed about 512.000 boxes. This has become really huge!

For my mom and me, packing the parcel has become kind of the starting signal for the holiday season. It doesn't mean that we start decorating our houses immediately, but it's the beginning of allowing ourselves to get into a bit of christmas mood... and it's something we do together. We share the "work", if you can call it work at all. 

I have a page in my Filofax for "Weihnachten im Schuhkarton". I decided to make a new one this year and plan to use it for the next few years as well. Here's what it looks like:

As you can see: I didn't want to overdecorate it to keep it functional. This year we packed a box for a girl aged between 5 and 9, and my mom did the fiddly task of glueing the christmas wrapping paper to the box. Next year, we'll take turns and I'll decorate a box for a boy. This page will help me to remind myself...

Autumn Weirdness

source: Wikipedia

Yesterday afternoon, when it was already getting dark, I had to run an errand in my hometown, Werther. Yes, it is the very same Werther as in Werther's Originals, the caramel candies. They were invented here more than a hundred years ago. 

Anyways.

I hopped into the small black French car I own and set out for the three-mile journey. Isn't it strange that I ended up only three miles from where I grew up? Some spiteful people might think I didn't get far... but what can I say? I like it here.

As soon as I came into town, all I saw was - Christmas lights! All over the place. City workers had apparently just put them up and were trying to find out if they were all working correctly (and I was thinking of Chevy Chase).

The very same moment some guys on the radio were talking about the almost summer-like temperatures outside as it's actually far too warm considering it's early November. "To get into the mood: Here's Joe Cocker and Summer in the City!"

November 6. Looking at christmas lights while listening to Summer in the City.

Autumn weirdness.