Christmas 2021

A New Tradition for Nikolaustag?

I think we may have started a new tradition for Nikolaustag!

A few weeks ago, I tried making a recipe from Döner Kebab from Dirndl Kitchen. I’ve been looking for more recipes that celebrate our German heritage, and this particular one stood out to me because it has some things in common with shawarma, which we all love. The funny thing about Döner Kebab, though, is that while it is extremely popular in Germany as a fast food, its roots are in Turkey. And then it struck me how much like St. Nicholas that is. He lived and worked in what is modern-day Turkey, but his commemoration date, and particularly his persona as St. Nick, giver of presents, is popular especially in Germany. So I decided that even though it’s a decent amount of work to make homemade Pide, garlic sauce, pickled cabbage, and marinated chicken all on a busy Monday, it would be the perfect meal for Nikolaustag. And it was! It’s already become a family-favorite meal, but I think the connection to where Nicholas of Myra actually lived, and where he is celebrated, especially as connected to our family’s heritage, makes it an extra-special Advent meal, and I hope it becomes a regular part of our St. Nick’s Day traditions!

Eleven Pipers Piping

I can’t believe that today I hung the penultimate ornament in our Hallmark “12 Days of Christmas” series on the tree!

I wonder what the final ornament will look like?

A Return to Christmas Traditions

After a hiatus last year due to COVID-19, yesterday we made a return to Christmas Traditions in historic St. Charles, MO!

The parade was a little different this year, including the fact that it ran the opposite direction down Main Street from what we were used to. This actually made it easier to photograph because I wasn’t pointing my camera into the sun, so that was really nice. And Santa liked my Christmas skirt!

Seeing the characters is always the best part, and we saw all of our favorites…in the end, we collected 21 of 35 cards, which is only ok, but the point is, we were there.

The very best moment for me was seeing Bunny see Jack Frost again. If we had accomplished nothing else yesterday, that would have made the trip worth it. And I think he was equally glad to see her!

My annual gazebo picture was a little different this year, but again, the point is, I took it:

Of all the things COVID took away from us last year, missing our favorite family Christmas event was one of the ones that hurt the most. Even if things weren’t exactly the same as they used to be, I was so glad to be back!

Garden Glow in the Time of Construction

So many things in the last…almost two years?!?…have been different, and Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden is no exception, but not for the reason you might think…their big construction project has put a spin on how the event is taking place this year!

The biggest difference is at the start of the event. The entrance is through the temporary Visitors’ Center and Linnean House (the latter is the location of the Blizzard Bar which is usually at the tram shelter), and the big Christmas tree is in the Gladney Rose Garden, which is actually kind of a great location for it. The tree is a different style this year, too, which we really liked, and the topper is awesome!

A lot of stuff was the same, although the routing of the path for the first part of the displays was pretty different. The lights around the Central Axis and Climatron are always my favorites, and we got to see them first thing after the big tree!

There were some new things (like a new flower garden), and one notable admission (The 12 Days of Christmas), and many familiar favorites:

For some reason, I especially liked the hedge maze this year:

Another notable change comes right at the end, as the exit is routed through the Ottoman Garden. I don’t think that particular location has been open during Garden Glow before, and it was pretty cool to see some of the trees covered in lights as we said goodbye!

So, Garden Glow was a little weird this year. It was nice to have a different experience due to something other than COVID-19, though, and we liked the new additions…maybe they’ll keep them around!