It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Something.

Waking on the 19th of December, one day before our two and a half week holiday journey, we celebrated what we have coined “fake Christmas” in our tiny room in our tiny house in Sheffield.  A week or so before, I had ingeniously created a two-dimensional Christmas tree using only wrapping paper and a MacGyver-like dedication to creating something out of nothing, complete with strung cranberries and the shackling of a poor beanie baby angel-bear for the tree top. As gifts and cards arrived from far and wide, we placed them under our makeshift tree and decided on a day to celebrate our own merry little Christmas.

During fake Christmas, in truly Domm family tradition, we interspersed the opening of gifts to the cooking and consuming of highly unhealthy finger foods and slightly spiked beverages. Thus our day was accompanied by mimosas, fried Indian food (in an attempt to incorporate British elements), cheese platters, pizza bagels (in an attempt to stay classy), and of course the most traditional of all: mozzarella sticks. It’s really not Christmas unless there’s preservative-laced fried cheese.

We hung our stockings all in a row, on our wardrobe handles, and festively opened them first. Thank you to everyone who sent cards, gifts, and messages of a happy holidays. It really helped to make our Christmas away from home filled with home. The day ended in the customary fashion, with a movie viewing of films received as gifts and stomachs filled with assorted sundries we vowed never to eat again, that is until next Christmas. Unlike previous years we also spent quality time packing in preparation for our trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Turkey.