I’v been absent for a bit. Unplanned. But I was drowning before Christmas in work (I sat at the desk until Dec 23rd) and life (emergency teeth surgery for the husband, some issue with my migraine piercing I needed to check) and errands (food, presents) and so I am just slowly reemerging. Christmas with the family is over. It was great. Even though it was a late getting into the sprit kinda things. Everything was almost exactly as last year – you can read all about it here. We love for our traditions to stay like they are.
My little Christmas Tree this year. We decided to get a smaller one in a pot.
Unfortunately the migraine also made an appearance again. Well, actually it never went away and on Christmas Day after fives days I had to cut a family visit short and go home early to get a grip on the situation. It helped. Two hours of darkness, silence and a nap had the mean brain ache gone. Sigh. Not how I had imagined.
My view when I was back home with the migraine. At least the view was cozy, nice and christmassy.
Anyways, it was still great. We had some nice time with my parents. And I have been spoiled with a bunch of presents. I decided to log it all down here because I might need to remember.
Here is a list in no specific order:
- a message turtle
- iPods
- voucher for comedy club
- puzzle
- salt & pepper shaker
- fruit leather
- lots of candy
- equipments for arctic trip
- 3 pairs of light merino socks
- heavy merino shirt
- sunglasses
- merino hat and headband
- cold cream
- soap and ginger bread
- money
- from the book clubs secret Santa: a book “Leuchtfeuer”
- from secret SANta: a mug, tea, marshmallows
- from my friend: a mindfulness calendar, candy, napkins
- from my godchild: a handmade bowl and candle from my godchild
My secret Santa gifts: Left from Tanja for San’s Mug Swap and right for the Heybooklovers book club.
Now we are back home and do our own family tradition. The husband and I cozy up in the time between the years and just be with ourselves. No people, no visitors, no appointments, errands (besides a grocery haul for New Year’s Eve) no gatherings. Just us, a puzzle, some games, lots of movies and an occasional walk. I will also work on my new word of the year and the goals I set for myself.
How was your Christmas? What is the favorite thing you unwrapped? A favorite gift you gave? Any books under the tree? What are your plans for the time between the years?
8 comments
Oh, that’s awful about the migraine, Tobia! I’m so sorry you have to deal with them. It sounds like you were able to enjoy some parts of Christmas, at least. Our Christmas was quiet and calm, and I enjoyed it. My family decided to stop exchanging gifts, which was very nice! It took so much pressure off, and we enjoyed eating a meal together. (There are no little kids around, so it works for us.)
I’m looking forward to learning your new word for 2026!
I love the tradition of gift exchanging but I have no joy in picking gifts for people. I always feel it’s not enough, not right, not meaningful enough.
Glad it works for you and it sounds peaceful.
Yeah, I could do without the migraines but I guess I m partly to blame with the amount of sugar I consumed and still consume. Sigh.
I am sorry your Christmas was disturbed by a stupid migraine. That really sucks… your view when you got home is really cozy though. I think you need to give us an apartment tour sometime – I didn’t know you had these amazing, exposed wooden beams in your house!
You got some great gifts, although I have to ask: what is a message turtle? And did you mean “Airpods”? I don’t think iPods really exist anymore! LOL
Thank you for sharing the Secret SANta gift and for sending me the photos separately! :) What a wonderful little surprise from Tanja!
Oh my gosh… you are right. It’s AirPods. When I typed iPods I wondered why it sounds weird but I was to lazy to get up and look or google. See how fried my brain is.
The wooden beam structure is from the country home at my parents where we spent Christmas. I don’t think they would like having in fully on the internet. Sorry. Maybe I’ll sent you some photos through mail.
Your migraine sounds terrible. I’m sorry you had to deal with it for so long.
I’m glad you had a good Christmas and got properly spoiled! My favorite gift I got was my new reading chair, and my favorite gift I gave was a cute calendar of AI-generated pictures of my mom’s dogs.
I could do without the migraines but I guess they are part of my life and not going away.
A new reading chair sounds lovely. Can’t wait to see it.
That is so disappointing that you had a migraine again this year. We are not big gift givers now but our kids got us a new ironing board cover and new pot holders which were sorely needed.
I sometimes wish we weren’t big on gift giving but then I do like receiving them. I keep suggesting to just gift books but I admit I might be the one enjoying these the most. Gifts that are needed are good gifts.