I began baking on Dec 23rd and obviously became obsessed with creating sweets because when I finished, I clearly had way too much for 6 people to consume in the following days. I made another batch of Nanaimo bars (ok, those were a gift for my friend Susan), Peanut Blossoms, Peppermint Bark, Peanut Butterscotch bars and my mom's recipe for cutout shortbread cookies. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the kitchen while I'm sure Delia thought I was crazy as she cleaned up after each mess only to watch me dirty the mixing bowls over and over again.
I finally discarded the apron and Brian and I took Mom to Brewerkz for beer and bar food and then introduced her to our musician friend Jai. He played John Denver's "Annie's Song" shortly after we arrived so Mom liked him right away. After listening to one set of music, she understood why we enjoy listening to Jai sing and strum his guitar. It was a great evening.
Christmas Eve started with some last minute errands and after lunch, the family decorated the shortbread cookies. I couldn't find holiday-colored sugars or sprinkles at the grocery store and was excited when I googled "making colored sugar" and discovered how easy it was to make my own. Add that to the list of benefits of being an expat as I likely never would have learned I could do that otherwise. After dinner, we prepared the house for Santa. We set out cookies and milk for the big guy and a carrot for Rudolph. Megan brought home reindeer food from school (glitter mixed with oats to help the reindeer find it at night) so we put out a few bowls on the terrace for them. Megan was concerned about how Santa would enter our house without a chimney but we assured her he wouldn't have any problem because he's magical. It is strange to not have a mantel though -- where do you hang the stockings? All kinds of logistics one must deal with in a different place.
The house came alive around 7am Christmas morning and each girl found some special items from Santa. Megan received a new bicycle and a pink iPod. Elizabeth got a Barbie doll with her own bed and bath and a Leapster gaming toy. Emily was excited to get a grocery cart and a new bike that she'll need to grow into a little bit. After opening all the gifts under the tree, the girls spent the day riding bikes, swimming and playing with their new toys. We had a traditional ham dinner and then drove around town looking at lights. It was just as Christmas should be in that regard.
While it was fun to see the girls get excited about Santa and spend the day playing, I had a hard time getting into the spirit of the day this year. I had hoped that having my mom here would keep my spirits high but I still felt homesick. I'm sure part of the problem is that we didn't attend church. It also didn't help that Dallas had a white Christmas for the first time in forever. It just didn't feel right to celebrate here and I can't explain why. I'm beginning to realize that holidays in Singapore will be nice to a certain extent and at the same time, I'll be relieved when I can put each event behind me and move forward.
I'm thankful my family was together and healthy for Christmas and that my mom joined us for the celebration. We'll have a couple days to wind down before leaving for Australia. And that's something I can definitely get excited about!
Dean Girls on Christmas Eve
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