Merry Christmas to you all

We celebrated Christmas with our family, just like Christmas should be. Call me old-fashioned but I just believe that in this period of the year we need to spend time at home with our families. Not really to do fancy things , neither to eat great meals (although I do enjoy them very much), but just to be together, being lazy, talking, enjoying the warmth of the houses inside as contrast with the cold dark days outside.

So I hope you can all spend time with your families this week and that you can enjoy the family warmth and some time to be lazy and even better: I hope you can enjoy the warmth of an fireplace in the house :). No I seriously wish you all a Merry Christmas and great holidays.

In Belgium we tend to celebrate especially Christmas Eve , more than Christmas day itself. But if you have to split the time between two families you have to choose. Jan and I alternate Christmas Eve each year with either his family or mine. This year on Christmas Eve we went to Jan's brother were we celabrated with Jan's parents and aunt and uncle. It was the first year that we had a Christmas with babies in the family and I must admit that it makes a big difference. Obviously they steal all the attention. Jan's parents were also babysitting Renee (jan's sister's daughter) since Jan's sister has her own bakery. Christmas is a very very very busy time of the year for bakers and they have to work all weekend , even at night.

Luisa

our hosts

Piet and Renee

On Christmas day itself, we drove to Deinze to my parents where Griet, Wim and Stef were as well. Unfortunately both my mother, Stef and Jan were all a little bit ill (all different complaints and nothing serious though). We sat down once more for a big festive meal. No, no turkey! We do have other varieties of feast meals in Europe ;). And even be better tasting than turkey.
Traditionally I also played the flute in church in Deinze with the youth choir.

Stef