December 24, 2014-
Just to freshen up your European holiday customs knowledge but I think it might be safe to generalize that Europeans celebrate Christmas on the 24th- Christmas Eve. (contrary- most Americans celebrate Christmas on the 25th). Since we're in Austria we're celebrating the mostly traditional way. Ah, perhaps I should add a side note here: in Austria the fully decorate Christmas tree is also a gift from the Christkindl (literally translated: Christ Child) and the tree is seen for the first time on Christmas Eve. However, to keep things sane for us and Opa we opted to do the American tradition when it comes to the tree: we decorated the tree as a family. Having grown up with both traditions I can honestly and truthfully say that I prefer the latter (decorating as a family).
Opa has a neighbor that comes and helps him clean and she also runs small errands for him…and she picked up a small REAL LIVE tree for us – along with a few ornaments- to decorate. Thank you Frau Eckhardt!
A most pleasant breakfast. When we first booked the rooms here we were told that since we were the only guests staying that the main eating room would be closed (which makes sense to limit heating costs) but it turns out other people decided to stay here over the Christmas holidays so the main eating area is open. Hooray!
Off to Opa's house we go! It goes (without saying, I hope) that we're celebrating Christmas …or Weihnachten …with Opa.
While Oma and Tante Kirstin were visiting this past fall they pre-arranged a few things for us. Oma ordered a few arts and crafts kits to keep the girls busy. I can verify that they were fun to make. (*ahem* Naturally I HAD to try the crafts too…right???!? I got to make a whole bunch of stinkin' cute owls).
We decorated the tree. A *real* tree. We only have plastic, fake ones in China. And Opa put some fun tunes on for us:
Annika posing with her very chocolate-y earrings (those are edible ornaments she's got on):
Annika's fun little pipe cleaner craft:
Annika's Christmas Monobug posing with her Mippets (there's a Jack Sparrow and Cleopatra Mippets she brought to show Opa):
Oh my. I just realized from this photo that we had a very *green* Christmas. LOL! The girls have been talking about making bows but Opa KNOWS how to make a bow out of wood that really works. He's nearly 92 years young and he many a things to teach us! Usually Opa uses hazel wood to make the bows but today he used something that was easier for him to get (not sure what it was..maybe elderberry?). He quickly made two bows for two very eager girls….
Here's a happy Annika:
And our goofy Ava…with the bows that their Uropa made for them!
While the lot of them were out and about with the bows and arrows acquisition project I was busy getting the Christmas Eve meal ready. And here it is!(why, oh why didn't I use the Gmundner Keramik? Oh well.)
Dig in! It's all yummy….trust me. (I think I ate too much!)
Daylight is going away soon so after our lunch we went outside to watch the girls practice shooting their bows:
Opa, as clever as ever, made the arrows even better by using corks (to weight down the front end of them to help them fly better):
It's now too dark outside…shall we see if there are any gifts for either of these silly girls????
Awwww….
Our pretty little tree…all decked out (and it smells divine!):
Can you tell by the twitchy hands how excited Annika is about this gift??
How about now??? (I think she's flapping those hands hard enough- she might take off and fly!!!!)
A new Dremel set…just for her!!! Oh, yes. She's VERY excited!
EVERY time we go to Ikea Ava asks about this drill (it's NOT a toy). Ava loves taking things apart and building things. Hooray! She finally gets her drill!!!
Oma, Opa and Tante Kirstin got the girls some really neat gifts- including a few *awesome* Lego kits. Oh, they were excited to see these!
A massive Lego kit!!!
Krampus and Nicholaus also came and left goodies at Opa's:
Check out this funny monster. Looks like it belongs in "The Nightmare Before Christmas"…doesn't it?
Daddy showing Ava about her new toy…I mean tool.
Naturally Opa's special kitty, Baerli, needed some love and attention. He's very shy (but Mark got to pet him…)
Treats! Punschkrapfen from the bakery in Turnau. I need to learn how make these as I think the girls like to eat them (or at least Annika likes them):Now…if I could sing I would sing lots of Christmas carols right now. In German or English. However, I cannot sing and I don't want to permanently damage my family's ears by my singing so I will not sing. Okay? Ok. Let's listen to Austrian music instead!
Opa checking out our tree:
Ava's finished craft projects (came as a kit):
and a snowman!
WOW!
It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone. It was such a beautiful and (nearly) perfect day. The best part was getting to spend time with Opa….and the girls have a deeper appreciation of what he can do and how very clever he is. :-) (I knew that!!!)
Huge THANK YOU to Oma, Tante Kirstin, Uropa, and Frau Eckhardt!!!!