Are you in the Christmas spirit?

Dear users, dear authors,
Are you in the Christmas spirit, or is it still way too early for that?

Well, I mean, sort of, sort of not ^^. But I’m definitely looking forward to the Advent season—it feels a bit more present this year than usual. I’m not really in the Christmas spirit yet, though; I’m more excited about the break I’ll have between Christmas and New Year’s and looking forward to a more contemplative time. But not to a big celebration (aside from the good food, of course :D). “My Christmas”—as I realized even as a child—tends to happen more in those moments when I least expect it—special moments you can’t plan for, but that stay with you for a lifetime.

Not yet.
I’m busy with other things.
Besides, we’re only celebrating Christmas here with my daughter—so it’s a very small affair.

I’m definitely not in the Christmas spirit yet. There’s so much to do at our office right now that I just can’t get into the spirit. There’s still so much that needs to be finished by Christmas. I can’t get any time off at Christmas or afterwards. I’m already looking forward to those three days off, and I’m sure I’ll get into the right spirit then.

Nope, I’m not in the Christmas spirit yet either; it hasn’t really been such a big thing for me since the kids grew up. And there’s always something else going on in the family, so it’ll still take a while.

Best, Inge

I’m slowly getting into the Christmas spirit.

Every time I go down to the basement, I bring a little Christmas decoration back up and put it up.

The first stollen has been baked and cut into today.

And we’ve bought tons of Christmas sweets for my sweetheart.

So every day it feels a little more like Christmas......

I feel the same way—not yet—but we’ll start decorating on the first Sunday of Advent, and then it’ll just happen naturally.
I’ve come to realize that seasonal decorations and the rituals that go with them go a long way toward turning the gray, monotonous routine of everyday life into something a little more special.

A few days ago, I was amazed that the first Sunday of Advent is already approaching. Because of the warm weather we had until recently, the thought of the Christmas season had completely slipped away. Now it’s suddenly right around the corner.

A little decoration can make a big difference, and I’ll get to that in the next few days. At least yesterday I baked our beloved sheet-pan gingerbread. The whole apartment smelled like Christmas.

You can find the recipe for the sheet-pan gingerbread, which is very quick to make, here:

                                         My Quick Sheet-Pan Gingerbread - the Recipe