In the lead up to Christmas Eve (As the main day is celebrated on the 24th here in Finland), a few tasks have to get done. So we got the tree yesterday (a Serbian spruce) to have it ready to decorate today. The last of the present shopping of course. And as always, making and decorating gingerbread together.
The tree is decorated with mice and woollen socks.
Gingerbread Traditions
This is about the only fun tradition for Christmas, as it is hands on and messy. We don't make the dough from scratch and instead by premade, frozen dough. It is easier than trying to find all the right ingredients for gluten-free baking that will actually work. There are heaps of recipes - most of them are not very good. They would be fine of course, if you had never eaten a normal gingerbread before, but they are not a great substitute. We should just bake normal ones.
Because I will eat most of them anyway.
The only tradition I have in regards to making gingerbread is to make and decorate some inappropriately. While I told Smallsteps I had made a heart with an arrow through it, it was a pair of lips and well... my wife knew what it was. The one pictured below came from a mould of a Santa clause, but I am not sure if that is how he celebrates before or after Christmas.
Yes. Childish behaviour.
Tree hugger killer
We have a little bit of an issue this year, because Puusti our insane puppy, has never seen a Christmas tree before. So despite seeing millions of trees outside before, he has decided that this one is edible. The problem isn't him ruining the look, but that dogs aren't meant to eat pine needles as it can make them sick. You'd think that animals would have some innate sense about what it can and can't eat - but not Puusti.
After his evening "zoomies" as my wife calls them, where he sprints around for an hour or two, biting anything and everything possible that he knows he shouldn't be biting, he then collapsed in his bed under the tree. The hope is, that having him sleep there a bit will make him accustomed to the tree as a place to relax, not a restaurant.
Because my daughter is still into mice, going on six or more years now, we have lots of mouse decorations around the place. Like an insane family. However, I hope that she will remember these days fondly as a time where her parents let her lean into her interests. We also have stars in the windows and random Christmassy things scattered about the house, so with the smell of gingerbread on top, it is starting to feel like Christmas here.
Your place?
Taraz
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Jaaaa cristmas is here.
Here we can buy a christmas tree but i prefer to go to the forest and cut a coffee tree and put some light and colors in its and here we have our ecological tree better than a plastic tree.
The neighbour was just telling me he went to his father in law's forest and got a tree. It is common here, but you aren't allowed to take them from the open forest. We used to have a plastic one, but now with a kid, real is the way to go.
Do you get some coffee beans too?
Yes, wuen i was a child work in a cafee plants, but in this monent if i can i could get a coffee grains because for my neighbor, is too expensive collect
Their harvest for this reason he does not collect and the grains losses in the trees, see this is so sad for me.
This is cool
What I love about this is how unpolished and human it feels. It’s not Christmas as a performance, as is usually done in this age of social media but Christmas as it actually happens slightly chaotic, full of small compromises and shaped by the people (and animals) in the house. This in my opinion create stronger memories, from the gluten-free gingerbread realism to letting a kid fully lean into her love of mice, it reads like a home that values memories over appearances.
I don't know if it is messy! :D
But these are the more fun parts. I don't like the formal stuff that much. I just have to grin and bear it.
Though I don't celebrate the Christmas holiday, I love the general atmosphere that comes with that period of the year. It's, together with the new year's day, a time to connect with family and friends and have some fun. I hope you and your family enjoy a happy holiday season and that also the new year treats you well. Happy holidays in advance.
I resent that. Being a big fan of mice myself (I even made it the emblem of one of the characters in my books!) I've got several mice decorations around me as I type this. I'd say it's only moderately insane, sir. The one in your tree is gorgeous. As for the naughty gingerbread, they give you a sack of white goo, what else is one supposed to think?
Your house looks lovely for the holidays! I hope you and your family have a great Christmas week! :)
We have been decorated up for a couple of weeks now. We made spritz cookies last weekend and this weekend we are just taking a breath before we get into the real festivities this week. We celebrate our big Christmas with my wife's family on Christmas Eve as well.
That looks like a lot of fun! Fortunately, our dog doesn't touch the tree or the presents.
Our tree is full of a big mash-up of different ornaments my wife and I bought over the years, with some newer additions at the recommendation of our kids. Our kids love helping decorate, which is a newer tradition I absolutely love. 😁
I still have some gifts left to wrap for family, but I have a couple more days to get it done, so everything should be good. 🎄
!BBH
!PIZZA
!ALIVE
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@bulliontools(2/5) tipped @tarazkp
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Hello Mr. Tarazkp, here in my country we also celebrate Christmas eve on December 24th, with precious memories, union and connection beyond everything that separates us from our families and good friends. I wish that on Christmas Eve and Christmas 🎄 our family that supports us, whether it is of blood or not, will be present. I'm sharing my Christmas time with you.
We call it "festive fever"🎄 ...always a enjoyable time, when the family together prepare for the festivity - cleaning, decorating and cooking..the kids would be learning a lot seeing how their parent prepare for the occasion. I am wondering how much she would be excited to decorate the tree with mice and shocks....looking forward to take a final look.
I was initially thinking that mice on the tree was a Finnish thing, but I guess it because Smallsteps likes them?
Wollen socks must be a Finnish thing?
It is about having fun with the process instead of worrying about being perfect. Those decorations are sure to make everyone laugh around the tree ;)
We thought about having a Christmas tree branch this year. but it seems that only full trees were sold close to us this year. So we probably will just place some decorations around the house without a tree/ branch.
My favorite type of behavior. I fit in so well in Middle School with early teenagers!
Oh my, I've been gone from your articles for a few months and now I come back to a dog?! Sounds like the girls finally got their way! Good luck with the new addition to the family!