Featuring our first proper Christmas tree. <3

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful holiday time with some much needed peace and joy! I obviously couldn’t skip my traditional Christmas post, so here is the big news: 2024 is the year we finally have a proper, i.e. larger-than-me Christmas tree in our home. We’ve had small ones in our previous rental flat, but it just wasn’t the same.

HOLIDAY DECORATIONS OF 2024

Although the living room hasn’t been renovated yet and we don’t really use it yet, we de-cluttered it enough to house the tree. Now, I am not religious and I am not even a huge Christmas fan, so it is simply irrational how much joy having a large properly decorated tree brings me and how much I missed having one last year – come let me know in the comments below if you are also a Christmas tree maximizer and what your holiday traditions look like.

Also, one of our relatives brought a puppy to the family Christmas dinner downstairs and our living room upstairs was the designated puppy shelter space, so double the joy all around. As you can see, this year’s traditional prosciutto leg was sliced under very strict supervision.

My annual cookie baking was confined to only one weekend this year, so I thought I wouldn’t have time to make the usual huge amount of cookies for friends and family. The rum pot pretty much makes itself, so it was ready, but the cookies don’t. Well, I went for all the easy types of cookies in my late grandmother’s recipe book and I guess they were easy enough that I managed 3 types in considerable quantities on Saturday alone. Then my partner Matic helped me make another batch of the more complicated cookies on Sunday, when we also put up our Christmas decorations. As soon as we were done it started it snowing, which also happened last year, so next year I’ll just put up all the Christmas stuff on the 1st of December and hope for lots of snow. Although the snow didn’t keep, we almost had a white Christmas this year, because some patches on snow stuck around until the 25th.

A NOT SO MINOR COOKIE BAKING FEVER

Since I am working on the 30th and the 31st, I don’t think I’ll be making any fancy food creations for New Year’s Eve like last year, so I might as well wish you all the best and a very happy New Year now. 2024 was a year of major change and growth for me, which is only fitting since it was apparently the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac. Although I don’t really believe in these things, any excuse for dragons is good enough and a dragon year is supposed to bring exciting advancements, which was certainly true for me in a lot of aspects.

Also, Matic made me a dragon creativity book for my birthday because we’ve been playing Skyrim together and I wished for an instant polaroid camera for Christmas, which is the perfect combo for even more dragons. (: I think it’s past time we bring back old school photo albums for some tangible memories, so this instant camera guest book trend at events like weddings and parties is something I can get behind, because I am out here documenting my adventures on my blog after all. Photos are simply meaningless without context and a good story.

All the best in 2025 and may it be everything you wish for!