Otto's First Christmas

Last year, Otto was still working in Chiang Mai on the holidays and unfortunately, we weren't able to spend Christmas together. So this year, I really tried to go all out for Christmas and show him how magical it can be. On Dec. 23rd, I made cookies and hot apple cider (+ optional whiskey). We took everything down to our local coffeeshop hangout and surprised our friend Yui. We showed up with a gang singing Christmas carols and even though the shop was already closed, we had a little private party enjoying festive holiday treats. On Christmas eve, we were invited to a dinner at our friend Arunee's house. She had her yard set up with tons of lights and there were tables outside. We were served a Chinese-style dinner with tons of courses! Our table was vegetarian so it was great. Afterwards, Arunee's students played games and received gifts. Otto and I came home and watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I had arranged for a friend to drop off some gifts from "Santa Claus" while we were out and Otto was pretty flabbergasted to see them when we got home. We got a new coffeemaker and a new orchid and air plant for our garden. Otto kept saying, "How did they know exactly what we wanted?" He suspected one of our friends had bought the stuff for us and kept looking for a card. He finally figured out it was me, but it was fun to let him see how wonderful and surprising christmas can be.

Here are a couple pics from the party:
Me and Otto with our cute new haircuts...
Sudha, Me and Ajarn Waraporn (who is my department head)


On Christmas morning, we opened our stockings and then I phoned the family. It was so good to hear everyone's voices. I had a small Christmas brunch so we were cooking all morning. Some friends came over and we stuffed ourselves, listened to christmas music and had some great conversations. After brunch, we sat around drinking tea and watching movies. Otto and I
exchanged gifts. I got a gorgeous journal from him as well as a cute Lampang tee-shirt. I got him a DVD about how to make earthen houses and I also had a couple pair of corduroy pants made for him. He has this favorite pair of pants he always wears and often complains that he can't find any similar pants. So i took them to a tailor shop and had them make exact replicas. He loved it! We met some more friends out for dinner and drinks on Christmas night. Otto and I came back early and sat on the front porch. He's been playing guitar and I've been singing with him. So even though it's easy for me to get homesick around this time of year, it was a really special Christmas for me, because I got to see everything through new eyes. It was so nice to take a new look at Christmas and see how beautiful it can be.