UID：200000099141120; UK Server S363: Third Mizukage; In-Game Name: AsukaIshimaru

Whenever I see Christmas decoration and festive food, or hear Christmas themed songs in shops around late October/ early November already, I just want to facepalm and release my entire soul with the deepest sigh ever, then bury myself at home in my writing and reading nook instead of exposing myself to this festive preparation madness, and only emerge again on the 1st of December. As my family and I are not really religious (the last person who actively went to church at Christmas Midnight Mass was my late grandmother), this is just too much of a fuzz for us. To quote Shikamaru: “How troublesome!”

However, there are actually parts about the Christmas preparations and celebrations which I genuinely enjoy. But it is not until early December that I get started on them. Let me tell you about them!

Over here people put up advent wreaths and light one candle on each of the four Sundays of Advent before Christmas. So buying four candles and decorating the advent wreath is one of the first things I do to get myself into Christmas mood. And it’s nice to have some sort of weekly ‘Christmas Countdown’ paired with the atmosphere of candlelight. This year I chose black and golden candles and added matching baubles of varying sizes to the wreath, then set the whole thing up on the dinner table. Looks fancy, but I like it!

My husband likes sweets very much, so I set about preparing and filling an Advent Calendar for him next. Throughout December and up until the 24th he then can find some chocolate, candy or little messages from me behind its doors each day.

Sometimes he would play random traditional Christmas songs on his guitar, but other than that we don’t really listen to Christmas themed music unless we have to.

Making and/or finding presents for friends, neighbours and family takes more time and effort though, especially if I write stories or make some artworks to give. But I genuinely like thinking about the things they might enjoy and coming up with things to give them that hopefully make them smile. Wrapping them is not my forte, however, and some of the presents need to be sent by mail so they might receive them even if I can’t meet them in person. (Aside from the whole covid situation, I just can’t go travelling around the globe as much as I’d like to.)

This is the second year in our new home, and also the second Christmas during the pandemic, so everything needs to be more quiet and careful. Thus huge family get-togethers like we used to attend are not an option. Instead, we’ll just have dinner with my parents at our home on Christmas Eve, and visit the in-laws on Christmas Day for lunch, then some online parties and gaming sessions with friends come Boxing Day.

This is also the part I’m looking forward to the most: together with my mother I plan the menu for our Christmas dinner. Most people over here only have sausages and potato salad on Christmas Eve… but we don’t do that. We (both my parents, my husband and I) cook a full 4-5 course meal together on the 24th of December, then enjoy the feast together, and in between servings we exchange presents under the Christmas tree, and afterward play some parlor games when food coma ensues.

This year I got my husband interested in joining the ‘baking spree’ as well after he saw me prepare food for the NO Christmas Group Events on discord, and he seems to have taken a liking to it, so we ended up having 8 kinds of cookies stuffed into cookie jars by now. (Luckily, they won’t last long, as they turned out really well.)

Apropos of Christmas tree: usually around the 3rd weekend of Advent they sell trees on the village market square and the earnings go to charity, so we support that. Normally I’d go for a blue spruce, as they smell really nice and I don’t mind the needles being more prickly, but apparently this year was a bad year for growing spruces, so instead we bought a Nordmann fir, which-- sadly-- doesn’t smell at all but the needles are quite soft, so it’s easier to decorate. I still have a whole box with various baubles, fairly lights, garlands, candles and ribbons, which I inherited from my grandparents, but I also add bits and bobs to the decoration repertoire every now and then. Decorating the tree usually is my ultimate preparation for the celebrations to come and the last step I take before the get-together.

And then there are the NO community events, here on the forum and on discord, which help get me into Christmas mood as well – and get me to connect and make friends with more people playing this game outside of my server cluster, which is nice and fun, but also keeps me even more busy th4n usual. Thank you, everyone! It’s been a blast!

So, I guess, this year is kind of special in many ways… Anyway, I hope you enjoy the holidays, and see you next year!