Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Not going home this year...
My DH and I have been living in Belgium since 2009, but we've always made it home for Christmas. This year, my sister is getting married in mid-November, so we thought it would be better not to go home for Christmas this year (since we will have just been home).
Also, in the past all our family has been about 30 mins from each other, but his Dad and my parents both moved to far away states - so it would be impossible to pick who to see.
I am not sure Christmas will feel like Christmas if we're not with our families. How can I make it feel more like Christmas at home if its just the two of us? Any suggestions on traditions I could start for our family?
What did you do your first Christmas alone (together)?
IN's October Siggy Challenge: Halloween Costumes
Re: Not going home this year...
Hey Elisa :-)
We haven't been to the US for the past two Christmases, and we live in the desert! So Christmas without snow and family was not the easiest adjustment :-P You will be homesick around Xmas, and it's not always easy, but we make the best of it!
We did a few things. Our first year, we watched a LOT of Christmas movies, decorated the house, and went out to the local hotels for a nice Xmas Eve dinner, and Xmas Day dinner. It's not exactly the same, but we had a blast doing it, and it was Christmas for us, the way we wanted (relaxing and stress free), which in a sense, was really nice!
One tradition we do now that we didn't before was the use of the British Xmas crackers. We open them at dinner and share the riddles/jokes on them, and wear our crowns all through out dinner :-) You could buy an ornament for each other as a memento of your first Xmas away, etc. Also, are there any traditions your family does that you can continue on, even while overseas?
Last year, we still did Xmas Eve dinner and brunch, but we also did a European Christmas markets cruise down the Danube! It was fantastic, and seeing snow and holiday markets made it a fantastic holiday season. :-)
This is a great opportunity to create new Christmas customs and traditions for you as a family. Embrace and enjoy it :-)
Dave & Jennifer 10.18.08
My Doha Adventures