Christmas Traditions: Twas The Night Before Christmas

For as long as I can remember, I've always read The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. Do y'all do that too?

When my sisters were little, we would all snuggle together in bed and read the story. After I moved away, I still made a point of reading it with The Hubs. In fact, one year my family recorded themselves reading the storybook, so now I can listen to it as well!

Record your own storybook

One of our most treasured possessions though, is a gift we received for our very first Christmas together. My sister-in-law is a very talented embroiderer, and she made us this book:

Isn't it beautiful work???

Now, every Christmas, we look though our gorgeous, handmade copy of Twas The Night Before Christmas whilst we listen to my family read the story out loud from the other book.

Do you have any traditions like this? Comment below, peeps!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife
or on Instagram @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Christmas Traditions: Stockings

Stockings have always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas! You can ask my mom, I always say Christmas wouldn't be the same without a stocking over the fireplace.

Here in Bavaria, they celebrate Saint Nikolaus Day on December 6th. On December 5th, children place a boot outside their doors and hope they've been good enough to receive gifts and candy from Saint Nikolaus. If they haven't, then a tree root will be placed in their boot instead. If they are particularly naughty, then the children will be punished by Krampus, or carried away in his sack!

Krampus in Neumarkt, Germany

Holy cow, I would be too scared to misbehave if that guy was coming to my door!!

Hubs and I won't be placing boots outside our day, but we'll be observing Saint Nikolaus Day. Since there are no kids in our house, our Lucy dog reaps all the benefits...

Yes, my dog has two stockings. What of it?  I mean, there is Saint Nikolaus Day and Christmas to think about!

Do you celebrate Saint Nikolaus Day or put your stockings out on Christmas Eve? Comment below, peeps. Until next time!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife
or on Instagram @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Christmas Traditions: Tree Raising

I know I'm early based on conventional traditions, but when have I ever been conventional??? The holiday spirit hit me quick this year, so yesterday I decided to put up my tree.

My neighbor helps with the tree

If you know me at all, then know this... I am not mechanically inclined. Like, at all. So when my tree came up with missing parts, I wasn't well equipped to handle it. That's why I called in reinforcements.

What was the problem, you wonder? Well, I bought my pre-lit tree used this year from someone moving back to the States. The 220V plug is handy to have. But when I opened the box, I realized there were no directions or diagrams or anything.

I can hear you laughing, you know.

With only 4 parts in total, you would think I could do it without directions. I thought I could. Then, I couldn't figure out which piece was the bottom tier. Then I realized the base was obviously missing a few screws. Then I finally figured out the bottom tier, but it immediately fell over due to the lack of parts.

Help!! Lucky me, my neighbor came over to laugh at me.

I mean, she came over to help me. And she did. But we pretty much redneck-ified my tree (this is an official word now).

Tree base, plus zip ties

We searched my tool box for screws that would fit the tree base. No luck. However, I did have quite a few zip ties! These are like duct tape, they fix all sorts of ills. As you can see from the pic above, I zip-tied the first tier of branches to the base.

Problem solved.

All of this took several hours of thought, a few trips back and forth to my basement and the neighbors house, 1 cup of coffee, 2 bags worth of zip ties, and a lot of laughter. But in the end...

Eureka! Let there be light... which is a whole other story and took another 30 minutes of plugging in, unplugging, and rearranging of cables. Not to mention the time it took to move all my living room furniture and find the perfect spot for my zip-tied Christmas tree.

Needless to say, I didn't get around to actually trimming the tree. That comes this weekend! Wish me luck, fingers crossed that my jerry-rigged stand holds, kay? Until next time, my friends...

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife
or on Instagram @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Christmas Traditions: Advent Calendars

I'll just put this out there while I can, and get it said... I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I probably inherited this from my mom, who is an absolute Christmas nut. Our home was always decorated to the max. We had several trees (all with different themes), garland everywhere, plus lights, candles, candy dishes, little Christmas villages... and that's just the first floor!

Living in Germany is a Christmas fantasy come true. Not only are the Christmas markets absolutely fantastic, but many of our Christmas traditions originated here. For example, the advent calendar...

My advent calendar (a gift from grandma)

This is such a fun tradition! I mean, who doesn't like getting a surprise everyday for the 24 days before Christmas??

There are so many styles of these calendars. Some are cardboard and contain chocolates or prizes. Some are paper and each window opens to a bible verse. Some are little bags that can be filled with whatever you want. I've even seen people purchase tiny, wrapped chocolate boxes that hang on the tree. Personally, I've always wanted one of the wooden calendars. And this year I got one!

You see, whilst my grandma was visiting I took her to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (I take everyone here, it's a beautiful German town!). In the town center is one of the world-renowned Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shops.

Outside Käthe Wohlfahrt

Inside Käthe Wohlfahrt

Inside Käthe Wohlfahrt

During our shopping spree, my Nana managed to buy me the wooden calendar you see above and sneak it home, all without my knowledge. She presented it to me before she left, as a present. Isn't she the sweetest??!! So this year, the Hubs and I are continuing the tradition of Christmas advent calendars in style.

And though I was the one who filled the wooden drawers with sweets, I'm guessing the Hubs will eat most of the prizes... anyone else want to take that bet? I didn't think so. Total sucker bet, ha.

Do you use an advent calendar? What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? Comment below, peeps! Until next time...

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife
or on Instagram @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com