My First Christmas Abroad

It’s almost been an entire month since I moved to Germany! If you are curious about how I ended up in Germany you can find the full story of how I met my husband in Thailand here. We moved to Germany well I followed my husband here after we decided to move to Germany around this time last year.

Last year Christmas looked very different for all of us. I know this because we are all having to revamp our plans and make adjustments! Last year, I was working on the Labor and Delivery  unit  as  Neonatal nurse “catching babies.” I picked up a 16 hour shift because Robin and I had celebrated on Christmas Eve which is a German tradition. That’s the thing about traditions, we always find a way to make them work.

Growing up, we would always have a huge Christmas. Literally all of my cousins, aunts, & uncles would come over and we would open gifts for hours because there were almost 30 of us opening gifts. As you grow older, the gifts don’t matter as much as just spending time with family!

Back to Last Christmas. Ahah

I facetimed my family on my lunch break and spent my entire break saying hello to almost 40 people who came to visit for Christmas. Video chat is literally the best thing that has ever happened! This I will facetime and there won’t be 40 people, but my family will be celebrating as I am far away. In California, I started a new tradition where I would have a Christmas Party at our home near the holidays. We were sick last year, so the party was cancelled. I hope to restart this tradition as things began to open up!

My first Christmas abroad and I’ve already started creating new traditions! We planned to go on a Christmas Market tour, but instead I am bringing the Christmas Market into our home. I have been working hard to perfect my Glühwein recipe which is Mulled Wine. I think I just want to add one more ingredient and then we will be all set.

So here is what my first Christmas will look like:

We have a Christmas tree decorated with yearly ornaments. I am missing the one from this year, but each year we get an ornament to symbolize our year, where we are or even a souvenir from a trip. We have ones gifted to us along with the ones I get every year.

All month we have been prepping with Christmas movies which were suggested by my Instagram followers.

We will have a steak dinner on Christmas Eve along with a good glass of Pinot noir & then we will walk around the neighborhood & enjoy lights. Christmas Lights are different here in Germany. There are lights here and there, but I believe that each year the Christmas Markets are the ones that bring the Christmas spirit to life!

On Christmas day, my Brother-in-Law and my Sister-in-law will have raclette! After all, it will be my first year and I am SUPER excited to try. Raclette has a melting part and a grilling part. You grill meat and melt cheese and mix it together for DELICIOUSNESS! I haven’t tasted it, but I know its going to be amazing! We will play games like UNO, Phase 10, or monopoly. I know I need to learn some German games!

Finally, I will serve my ALMOST famous  Glühwein! Let me know how you like it in the comments!

Here’s the recipe for you:

Ingredients:

1 bottle Dry Red wine

2 Star Anise

1 Sliced Orange

8 Whole cloves

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1 tablespoon Honey

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1.5 shot of Extra Liqueur (optional): brandy, cognac, bourbon

1. Turn your stove top to low and melt the honey and maple syrup
2. Add the wine, and turn up the heat just a bit. If you allow it to boil you will boil off the alcohol
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Once it simmers, turn down the heat and allow it to warm up.

To make this a Virgin glühwein, use Red grape juice without added sugar.

HERE IS A CHRISTMAS MUSIC LIST!

At the end of the day,

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU FRIEND!