For a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas, they sure do go all out for their ex-pat population (or so I thought). We attended the second annual Dubai Christmas Festival this weekend where they showcased local eateries, christmas market, an ice rink, fake snow and Santa's grotto to name a few. Now if the malls would just catch on and sell more than just trees and ornaments, it would be the perfect holiday season!
Sadly, the Festival was a huge disappointment. The biggest disappointment of all was waiting in line for 45 minutes to get a picture with Santa only to be greeted by a 15 year old bean pole of a boy dressed as Santa. IT. WAS. TERRIBLE. Not to mention that we had to pay for the visit and we had to take our own picture! No professionalism what so ever. I'm glad Riya is too young to understand these things. If I was a little kid and I saw that Santa, I would be questioning his existence for damn sure.
The Christmas Market that they boasted about at the Festival was also a let down, but I anticipated that. Since I don't have any holiday decor and couldn't find much, I had to get creative to make our house festive. Ram is going to Houston the week before Christmas and comes back on the 23rd, so I was able to at least order the stockings and tree skirt that I loved. Too bad I have to wait until Christmas eve to display it. In the meantime, I was able to get a wreath outside and create something for our mantle (pending the stockings). So I found this craft shop and picked up some wooden letters and foam trees. Add a splash of glitter and voila:
I would have liked to do something a little more inspired, but given my limited free time, this will have to do! I'm currently working on our tree, at this pace, it should be ready by Christmas Eve! Ha.
Another thing I've been focusing on is establishing holiday traditions. Now that we have started our clan, I want to make the holidays a memorable event for our kids as they grow up. I never really had any traditions growing up aside from waking up early on Christmas morning and opening presents in our PJ's while scarfing down deviled eggs. So here is the list of traditions I plan on incorporating every year:
1. Christmas Box- every year on Christmas eve everyone gets to open their box which will contain new PJ's and an activity or game to do that day.
2. Elf on the Shelf- until Riya is old enough to understand this, I think I will have adult fun with this one;)
3. Christmas Scavenger Hunt- the weekend before Christmas spend an afternoon to search the city for all things Christmas related
4. Christmas Crackers- this is a UK tradition that I fell in love with and since Aberdeen holds a special place in our hearts, it will always be a part of our Christmas celebrations. It also makes for a great stocking stuffer! They even sell fancy adult crackers here where the "toy" is a wine opener, key chain, etc.
5. Advent calendar- I want to do some sort of countdown to Christmas, I really like this picture of Santa claus with his beard is the countdown:
So far I'm happy with that list but am looking to add. What are your favorite traditions?
Sadly, the Festival was a huge disappointment. The biggest disappointment of all was waiting in line for 45 minutes to get a picture with Santa only to be greeted by a 15 year old bean pole of a boy dressed as Santa. IT. WAS. TERRIBLE. Not to mention that we had to pay for the visit and we had to take our own picture! No professionalism what so ever. I'm glad Riya is too young to understand these things. If I was a little kid and I saw that Santa, I would be questioning his existence for damn sure.
The Christmas Market that they boasted about at the Festival was also a let down, but I anticipated that. Since I don't have any holiday decor and couldn't find much, I had to get creative to make our house festive. Ram is going to Houston the week before Christmas and comes back on the 23rd, so I was able to at least order the stockings and tree skirt that I loved. Too bad I have to wait until Christmas eve to display it. In the meantime, I was able to get a wreath outside and create something for our mantle (pending the stockings). So I found this craft shop and picked up some wooden letters and foam trees. Add a splash of glitter and voila:
Another thing I've been focusing on is establishing holiday traditions. Now that we have started our clan, I want to make the holidays a memorable event for our kids as they grow up. I never really had any traditions growing up aside from waking up early on Christmas morning and opening presents in our PJ's while scarfing down deviled eggs. So here is the list of traditions I plan on incorporating every year:
1. Christmas Box- every year on Christmas eve everyone gets to open their box which will contain new PJ's and an activity or game to do that day.
2. Elf on the Shelf- until Riya is old enough to understand this, I think I will have adult fun with this one;)
3. Christmas Scavenger Hunt- the weekend before Christmas spend an afternoon to search the city for all things Christmas related
4. Christmas Crackers- this is a UK tradition that I fell in love with and since Aberdeen holds a special place in our hearts, it will always be a part of our Christmas celebrations. It also makes for a great stocking stuffer! They even sell fancy adult crackers here where the "toy" is a wine opener, key chain, etc.
5. Advent calendar- I want to do some sort of countdown to Christmas, I really like this picture of Santa claus with his beard is the countdown:
So far I'm happy with that list but am looking to add. What are your favorite traditions?
Wow, you are awesome to be decorating for Christmas. I can't imagine finding the energy right now! I LOLed at the santa description. I can't wait for elf on the shelf days. Jonathan and I have decided to start a tradition with Forest where he gets 3 gifts (one for each of the gifts the wise men brought baby Jesus). One will be something to wear, one will be something to read, and one will be something to play. It's hard to shop for an 8 week old though! He's not interested in much!
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