Countdown to Christmas

This advent calendar reminds me of the one my Mom made.

I purchased this Victorian home advent calendar from Costco.

The little ornaments are too cute on this advent tree.

These Danish elves hide presents for little ones in their 24 pockets.

I decided to start a Christmas tradition for my children: We will count down the days until Christmas with our advent calendar house, and the children will enjoy candy, pictures, and games to celebrate each day. We'll make December a month-long party! Nathan enjoys counting, and this method will help my 4-year-old figure out how many days till Christmas -- that all-important question this time of year.

There are many advent calendars out there, and in this digital age you can even open those daily doors on the computer. The online advent calendars I checked out say "no peeking" if you try to open them early. I liked one online calendar that tests your knowledge of how Christmas is celebrated in other countries. If you're more interested in historical, traditional calendars, another website showcases these images in a virtual museum.

According to Wikipedia, the origins of this tradition come from German Lutherans in the early 1800s who marked their doors with white chalk for each day of Advent. The first printed calendar came out of Hamburg in the early 1900s. And, if you're planning to travel to Germany during the Christmas holidays, be sure to visit a town called Gengenbach (located in the Black Forest), which has a town hall with 24 main windows that is turned into an advent calendar each year. Various artists paint a scene in each window. How great is that? I think Martha Stewart should start up that tradition at Turkey Hill (if it has enough windows).

YouTube addict

Nathan has become a big YouTube fan. I watched a few videos one day, and he watched them with me. Then he wanted to look at more, and since I wanted it to be kid-friendly, I looked up "Thomas the Train." I could not believe how many videos popped up -- everything from parts of episodes to computer game clips to British children playing with their train sets. Nathan found a favorite form of entertainment, and he stayed glued till I pulled him out of the trance. He didn't even want to leave to vacuum with me like he usually does. He said something in the morning that revealed how much trains are on his mind: "Nathan is Percy and Andrew is Thomas." Percy, the green engine, is his favorite since he sports his favorite color. Nathan is very good at constructing his wooden train set on his own too; he'll do a figure eight or a circle most of the time. It's fun to listen to him pretend play with his trains.

Pobrecita enfermita chiquita

I knew Sophia was sick around the Thanksgiving holiday, but I figured she just had a little cold. On Saturday night, I noticed she wasn't breathing great at night. It was worse Sunday night; she wheezed and struggled to take in air. I wanted to take her to her doctor in the morning, but when Sophia seemed so sick, we came close to taking her to the hospital. I thought she might have RSV or bronchiolitis, which she had last winter, but the doctor said she had croup. The first thing that popped into my mind was Anne of Green Gables, since Anne had to care for twin babies who continually suffered from croup. The doc gave me a pill and told me to use a humidifier and take her out in the cold air to allow her to breathe easier. Croup comes on more at night, and it's confined to the throat; babies and young children are the only ones who get it. Sophia still has a cough and cold, but she's breathing fine now (compared to the other night!). I have to say my medical knowledge has definitely grown since becoming a mother; sometimes I wish Dan had stayed with pre-med so we would know what to do right away. Then again ... I already have medical info at my fingertips, thanks to WebMD. (What a plug.) Sweet dreams Sophia Belle.

Christmas for the troops and new holidays

Caminito St. in Buenos Aires

Our church group met this evening to pack boxes of goodies for some of the soldiers in Iraq. There are a few members of our ward (congregation) who are serving there now, and these packages will get to their divisions before Christmas. I had fun going through my pantry to find food to donate, and we had a lot of candy left over from Halloween that I figured the troops would enjoy more than we would. I bought some pudding snacks, instant oatmeal, and cereal packs to add to the stash. We had a sizable stash at the church, everything from candy canes to fruit snacks and games like Sudoku, Uno, crossword puzzles, and even Frisbees. There were quite a few Westerns and some beef jerky too. I know they will really appreciate these treats since they are reminders of home. No matter where you stand on the Iraq issue, it's important to support the soldiers who are sacrificing so much to be there. It's not easy celebrating Christmas far from home.

I celebrated Christmas away from home as a missionary in Buenos Aires when I was 22 years old. I spent it with my favorite companion, Gina Gutierrez, and even though I missed my family and the traditional activities, we really had a good Christmas. It felt like I was celebrating the Fourth of July since it was hot and humid there in December and because the Argentines set off fireworks into the night sky. My comp made a great dinner -- roast and potatoes, and we ate ice cream for dessert on the roof of our casita while we saw the fireworks display. I was told they set them off to show anger or disapproval of the government, and so the amount of fireworks varied from year to year. What an unforgettable Christmas.

Create Your Own Holiday

Dan reminded me that this Saturday, November 17, is Danny Chan Man of Action Day, which is a holiday of his own invention. It basically consists of a day when Dan does what he likes to do most, which likely involves computers, computer games, a movie or two, and eating his favorite foods. I thought, Wow, I should make up a holiday too! I decided it would be fun to remember my days in Argentina. I arrived in Buenos Aires on April 1, 1998, but that's already a holiday -- April Fools' Day. So I'll probably do it in January on the day I entered the Missionary Training Center (I'll have to look in my journal to figure out the date). My party will involve drinking mate, eating empanadas and dulce de leche (caramel), listening and dancing to tango music and other Latin music, and watching or playing soccer. I could also watch Evita. One year I may even go crazy and paint my walls in bright colors like Caminito, the area of La Boca that's said to be the birthplace of the tango. Oh, and I'll only speak Spanish! Daniel will LOVE that idea.

I'll call it my Argentine holiday, and I'll at least remember to celebrate in 2008. (No promises for 2009 though.) I just want a day to remember a time and place that meant a lot to me. I want an excuse to drink mate and reminisce about the friends I made and the lessons I learned. It was one of the hardest and best things I could have done. So here's to my holiday; viva Argentina!