One fun thing we did this year was volunteer to do a table at the ward Christmas party. The theme was "Christmas Around the World" and we put together a table about Christmas in Norway. We picked Norway because the Gordhamer's ancestry is Norwegian and I thought it would be a good opportunity to help the children learn a little bit more about their heritage. We had a lot of fun and learned some interesting things as we prepared our little display. We figured out how to make those heart baskets you see on the tree--they are filled with candy and nuts and hang on the trees as ornaments in Norway. We learned about the nissen (or gnomes) that are part of the Christmas fun on the farms in Norway and they also live in the little gingerbread houses. The kids were very excited about and proud of our table.
We also had the annual school concert that the primary division (grades K-2) does at the the girls' school. It is quite a production and again as was the case last year, I was very impressed by the whole thing--the stage, costumes, songs, and preparation that goes into the program. Maggie loves music at school and it was such fun to see her sing her heart out in the show. Here she is pictured (in the very center of the photo) with her class--they did a Singaporean version of Rudolph called "Ling Ling the Red Nosed Reindeer."
We have made it a tradition now as long as we are here to go and see the lights on Orchard Road downtown. Orchard Road is the main shopping road in the heart of downtown (I have referred to it as Singapore's 5th Ave). Each year Singapore picks a theme and decorates elaborately with lights and displays that go for at least a couple of miles. It is beyond anything I have ever seen in terms of extravagance and a lot of fun to see. We go early and get ice cream cones at a Dairy Queen stand, eat them while we wait for it to get dark, and then make our way through the huge mass of people along the sidewalk. It is hard to even imagine how crowded it is--and we even went on a Monday (as opposed to a weekend). This year the theme was "Sweet Shoppe" or something like that and all the decorations had to do with candy and sweets. There were candies hanging from all the trees along the road and giant cupcakes and things displayed at different stops.
Another new thing we did this year was a quiet Bethlehem dinner on Christmas Eve. I must give credit to a friend from Minnesota who first gave me the idea. When I presented it to the kids, they responded with great enthusiasm and helped plan the evening. We dressed up as shepherds looking for Bethlehem, stopping at an "inn" during our journey to sup before making our way to a "grassy field" in Bethlehem where we could learn more about Christ's birth. Pictured below is our dinner at the inn, which consisted our pita bread, hummus, leg of lamb with mint sauce, olives, grape juice, and goat's cheese. Joseph insisted on the lamb even though I was skeptical. The kids loved it--Maggie asked for fourths! I managed to swallow a few bites while feigning to enjoy it. The kids had remarkably insightful answers to Joseph's questions about why lamb is significant in the scriptures and why Heavenly Father sent Jesus to a humble stable and home. After dinner we had desert which consisted of almonds and dried apricots while we read the nativity story from the scriptures, singing hymns throughout. It was a really nice way to bring the focus of Christmas back to Christ and his birth, turning out to be a very special night. And I think we will keep this tradition always.
Santa Claus found us again this year--and boy does he work hard! Look at all those nicely wrapped and arranged presents! And apparently, all 4 of the children were good this year. Of course they all had to wait anxiously on the stairs while Joseph got the camera ready and the lights turned on (no fires here). Ella got a new trolley (that's what they call a shopping cart here) to push her toys around the house. Maggie was very excited about her new American Girl doll Samantha and her Christmas dress. Abigail got Kit, another American Girl doll, for Christmas. Xander was very happy about his new airplane. He spends a lot of time on airplanes for a 3 year old so we thought he would enjoy one of his own to fly.
All in all, we had a fantastic Christmas. I am often overwhelmed as I stop and contemplate during the holidays just how much we have and all the blessings we enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment