Frohe Weihnachten

Merry Christmas from Germany!

Eliza had a great Christmas. Her big present was a bike (which she is still learning to ride).

Krampus Time!

Ah, Germany! The fairytales are definitely a little darker than the Disney versions we get...

A Christmas Message from Claron

This is Amanda. Claron hates, hates, passionately hates cheesy Christmas songs. I'm not talking the traditional Christ centered songs. I'm looking at you "Christmas Shoes" and even "Mary Did You Know?" Yes, Mary did know. An angel came and told her! In that spirit, here is this years' Christmas message from Claron:

Christmas Pageant

Eliza participated in our Church's Christmas Pageant this year. We thought that she would want to be an angel, but nope. Here she is. She was a wise woman. This is her "game face."

Our Last Santa Barbara Christmas

Merry Christmas! We had a great day. Eliza got up around 9 a.m. We took some pictures and skype'd my parents. She loved opening presents.

 Her favorite presents were her "Suzy" pets (Zhu Zhu pets), her "science" (a chemistry set), her book from Grandpa that reads to her in his voice and this horrible, obnoxious princess laptop.

She liked opening presents but definitely took her time.

She liked her stocking. It contained the Ridge stocking prescription.

A Ridge stocking contains:
-Something to Eat
-Something to Read
-Something to Play With (and)
-Something You Need

For dinner, we had our friends, the Argyles, over. They have a baby, Lydia, who is 4 months. We had salad, ham, funeral potatoes and green beans. We ate on my legacy china. (I can't believe I didn't take a picture!! I also didn't take any pictures of us in our Christmas wear.) After dinner, we talked to family and then went to the Argyles' home to play games. We played a great game about trains. It poured rain part of the day. It was a great day!

O Christmas Tree

I love our Christmas tree. I found a good one this year. Believe it or not, I bought it at the Home Despot. I know, classy. Claron told me last year that he was never shopping for trees with me again, and he held to it. He swears that I am "too picky." I blame this on my dad. I remember one year Dad and I went all over the state of Pennsylvania looking for just the right tree. I digress. So, Eliza and I went to the Home Despot. We arrived at 3:30 p.m. The tree was unwrapped on our back patio by 4 p.m. Claron was in a state of disbelief.

The reason I love our tree is the ornaments. They all have a story. They were either bought overseas, made by us or given to us by someone special. We have this color changing angel that Eliza HAD to have at an ornament exchange one year. People tried to "steal" and she would cry! She still loves that angel.

I'm debating whether I want a garland. Also, I cant decide whether I'm taking ornaments to Germany. And, if so, how do I decide?!

Krampustag

In preparation to move to Munich, I've subscribed to a daily Munich photo blog. Imagine my surprise when today I got this today:

Yup, those are demons. Apparently, the Krampus is a demon that accompanies St. Nick. He carries a birch branch and a basket. If you are bad, not only do you not get presents but you either get beaten with the switch or thrown in the basket and taken to the depth of hell.

Today (5 December) is Krampustag. The Muencheners dress up in elaborate masks and parade around as Krampuses. I'd better get started on Eliza's costume. Check out these kids:

Also, this completely expands the Christmas card options. Check this out:

Greetings from Krampus and Nicholas

Greetings from Krampus

Oh, Germany, what an interesting few years this is going to be!!

A Special Message from Claron

Claron loves this song. He thinks all should partake.

Eliza's Feelings About Santa