When we packed up to move over here, we had to leave most of our, like, 12 totes of Christmas décor behind. We sold our beautiful, pre-lit tree, stuck most of my Nutcracker collection in storage and basically only brought some Christmas pajamas, socks and hand towels, 2 of my Nutcrackers, our special ornaments, special Christmastime-only stuffed animals, and our stockings.
Luckily, our Elf on the Shelf also found his way over here to Germany this season.
"Getting out the Christmas decorations" was always this exciting all-afternoon affair back home with Christmas music and Sunday afternoon American football muted on the TV. The kids were really excited about it again. And this year we ran down to the Kellar and in about 15 minutes we were done. The kids were still positive and excited, happy to be reunited with their plush Christmasy friends, but I felt a little sad as I looked around the flat. No wreaths, no star on my tree, no snow globes, no small bedroom Christmas trees, no festive soaps, no nativity scene...
We went and bought a tree. We were all set to get a real one for our first time. We were going to drag it home by hand, of course. We found the trees and went next door to a hardware store to get a stand. While there, Easton spotted the artificial trees and all on his own did some math. Like, "Well, if we buy a tree for 30€ each year we're here, plus this 20€ stand it will be way more expensive in the long term than if we just buy this 60€ fake tree with a stand that we can keep using." We were sold. Easton rarely thinks like that or voluntarily does math. :) We bought a strand of lights and headed for home.
Then the lights didn't work right. So E and Jason headed back up to exchange them and then we could decorate. But the lights here aren't as bright as the lights at home were. And there's less of them. We put up the kids' ornaments that we have collected over the years but our purple and gold balls, garland, and bows were left in Colorado. We put down the purple tree skirt, but without all the other purple and gold décor we had, it just looks kind of out of place. Oh well. The kids are happy. These are the ornaments that have special meaning for them. For us. I know that's what matters. We have no mantel, the walls here are solid rock....so right now, our stockings are stacked on a spare dining chair. Not hung anywhere with care.
One of our traditions has always been to get a new ornament for each kid and for the family each year. It often has to do with something from the year: "Baby's First Christmas", a ballerina when Autumn first started dance, a Star Wars character when E really got into that, or Superman when that was Dalton's Halloween costume. But there's no "Hallmark" here to get some of these themed keepsake-type ornaments we're used to. Or Target. Or Hobby Lobby. There are, however, Christmas markets but they're not going to have like, a "Minecraft" ornament or "Barbie". The kids did find things they liked, for whatever reason, and when we look back at them we'll remember it as "Oh, this was our first year in Germany" rather than "Oh, this is the year they were obsessed with Angry Birds".
But, Jason and I didn't find "the" ornament for us this year. Yet. I think it will be a wood-cut one we saw with a scene of Berlin, but we didn't buy it, thinking there may be something better. We need to just get it, though. I've also been on the hunt for this year's Nutcracker. I mean, I'm in Germany...hellooooo! Soldier-looking nutcracking "men" were, like, invented here back in the 17th century. This is the place to get something "real" and authentic for my collection finally, right? But again, I haven't found "the" one. Again it often has something to do with that year: last year Autumn and I got the year's nutcracker from the actual ballet I took her to for the first time. And it's playing a drum which is the year Easton began drumming. Or a Mickey Mouse from the year we went to WDW in November. Or a purple and gold one (LSU colors) from the year I met Jason. But I haven't been able to find one that is speaking to me just yet. Not that I've been able to look a ton. The little two have been sick on and off missing days and days of school these last 3 weeks. When they're healthy I have to do other things like try to find groceries or Christmas gifts. Not nutcrackers. I'll get there.
There's other small traditions from home I'm missing: whether it's our random acts of kindness we'd complete each day, driving around in our jammies looking at Christmas lights sipping hot cocoa out of travel mugs, baking favorite treats (the ingredients for many of our favorites just aren't available here), I miss the Christmasy shows every day on ABC Family, Bass Pro's Winter Wonderland, going to see Santa at the mall, playing Christmas music non-stop on my CD player in the car . . . You get the picture.
But the big challenge that I honestly hadn't been expecting has been shopping for gifts. Yes, really. You see, the kids only ever ask Santa for one present. And they all still believe and Santa has always delivered. Well, their "asks" for this year are video games for each of the boys. Santa isn't going to bring my little Americans German-speaking games is he? Like this?
People told me, "Most of the games have a language-selector." Okay, but I looked at the product information and see this:
("Sprache" is language, "Bildschirmtexte" is screen text and "Anleitung"--the only one that lists an English option--is instructions.)
So....it seems to me like this game from Amazon.de only speaks German. We called a Game Stop here. No dice. They suggested Amazon. Then I had this bright idea to use the UK Amazon. Those will speak English! But, before too long I realized that we have an American Xbox....discs have "regions" that the will work in. So, a UK or German-bought disc, while it can {maybe} have the language switched, won't play in our American Xbox anyway. There are hacks to make your Xbox region-free or something but we weren't convinced that would work or wouldn't mess stuff up. And some games are available through their online store or something to download directly to your Xbox, but on Christmas morning what are they gonna do? Wake up and see a note from Santa under the tree? "Uh, I downloaded your games onto your Xbox. Merry Christmas". But again, you'd have to go through the American site somehow and we can't use a VPN with our Xbox to "trick" it into thinking our IP address isn't over here in Germany. And what about the "guys" that come with these games if you buy it in a pack? They want those too! So . . . we ordered from the States. We threw in another Xbox game we knew we'd want to get Easton for his birthday in just a couple of weeks and an English-language strategy book for one of the games but...
Friends, shipping was $50. And then, they have this fun thing in the EU called "Import Tax". It was $54. I was not expecting those sorts of added challenges.
Then, Autumn has decided she wants "a Baby Alive" for Christmas. "Any Baby Alive that Santa wants to give me." Great. Baby Alive isn't sold in stores here at all. There are a few on Amazon.de. BUT, she already has all of the ones sold on German Amazon. What is Santa to do??
I can't just pop in to a store and pick up a book to give them...German. The English-language choices for children are minimal, that I've seen. I can't just pick out a fun looking board game...everything on the board, the box, or in the instructions is in German. Talking toys speak German. I have found a few things on Amazon, sure, but it's not like, "oh they have everything". They don't. Not over here.
I was at a store the other day and I was all, "Oh! I'll just get Autumn this DVD. Schneewittchen (Snow White) and we can change the language!" until I remembered..."oh yeah, it won't play on our DVD player. Region thing again." Yes I can play it on a laptop, no I don't like to do that. They can control the DVD player themselves. My laptop is on it's last leg. They're not touching it. So I left the DVD there. I hadn't thought about that kind of stuff when I thought about challenges we'd face over here.
I'm sure you're all, "Geez, Kristin, just embrace the German, your kids need to learn anyway." And for gifts from me and Jason, sure I can see a little German here and there, but from Santa??? I can just see them being so disappointed and confused that they don't understand anything when it's the one thing they wanted. :( "I wonder why Santa gave us German games?"
And I miss my family. So much. I miss the cousins putting on Christmas pajamas after Thanksgiving dinner. I miss going to "our" annual craft fair, just me and my mom, like we've done every year for many years now. I miss the "baking day" we've often done with my mom and sisters. Many times in years past, my mom would take us on a holiday outing to Disney on Ice or to a snowy mountain overnight getaway. Whichever kid was in preschool would sing in a Christmas show and my mom and Lauren would always come for the short performance. I miss planning who's bringing what dishes to contribute to Christmas Eve brunch or Christmas dinner. I miss Christmas cards and packages arriving in my mailbox every day from friends and family around the country and Jason checking out the display of cards each day when he got home to see "who" had arrived.
The kids hear of their classmates traveling at some point over the Christmas break (I really can't think of anyone that I've talked to that is staying here, honestly) and they ask if we can go back to America for Christmas. :'(
It's not the same. Berlin doesn't feel like "home" to me...yet. I'm trying. I really am. I will do another post soon with the new and old traditions we're trying to embrace so you don't think I'm being some totally depressed party pooper that can't make the most of things. I'm doing my best, I'm just saying it's a challenge, and I'm having to work at it. And pretending that everything is all hunky-dory and I'm so glad we're here right now isn't me being real. I miss home.
And apricot-filled gingerbread dipped in chocolate is just not delicious.
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