SANTA’S FIRST VISIT, A DREAM COME TRUE!

Anne’s story

When I was a kid me and my family always went to see my grandma and grandpa (Russian grandparents who we called “Mama” and Deeda”) and they had these really old Christmas decorations with russian Santa and all
characters I loved. Years later when I was already a mother myself, I saw this Santa in the store, and it reminded me these decorations, so I bought it. Now I put it on the tree every year to remind myself the sweet
childhood memories.

Very nice memory from when I was a kid, was Santa coming to my family home for the first time. We all learned some poems and songs. My mom still has a picture of that evening in the album with the title “Anne’s dream came true; Santa came to our home!” 😊

I wish that everyone can spend some time with their families, walk in snow and enjoy the peace that Christmas brings!

A PERFECT MESS

Mauro’s story

This is our Christmas tree, including baby decorations and destroyed star on top, as the tree was already pushed down by the kids many times 😄!!! As you can see, a horrible mess!

I don’t have a favourite decoration, baby toys are the decorations now.

With Christmas, I have memories with my father cutting trees from the forest to take it home and decorate for Christmas (that was very funny, but we can’t do that anymore nowadays!).

For the holidays, I wish for myself to relax (I can’t really do that!) and I wish to others to have one of their wishes satisfied.

WHAT TRULY MATTERS MOST?

Sille’s story

The Christmas holidays often seem to arrive in a blink of an eye, leaving us stressed about finding the perfect gifts for friends and family. This pressure to consume brings to mind a quote from the TV series Dr. House: “Gifts allow us to demonstrate exactly how little we know about a person.”

While I strive to prove otherwise, it’s even more important to remember that the most valuable gifts can’t be wrapped. Presents may fade, but the time spent with loved ones and the memories we create together last a lifetime.

This holiday let’s focus on what truly matters—connection and kindness.

BRIGHT LIGHTS AND SECRET SANTA FOR BOOK LOVERS

Lita’s story

I’m finally at that stage in my life when I can start thinking about how I want to experience this festive season. One thing I do is decorate my home. I don’t get a Christmas tree for various practical and environmental reasons, but I love to add some sparkle to my flat. As it is the darkest season of the year, different lights are my go-to thing.

Christmas Eve & Day is usually spent with my family. Nowadays, it’s mostly about making it fun and a little bit magical for my nephew and niece. We always have a joint Christmas dinner and some presents. There are no special or unique traditions (plus I’ve baked too many gingerbread cookies in my childhood). As I like baking, I try to experiment with new Xmasy cake recipes around this time.

With my book club we have a Secret Santa for book lovers. Everyone gets a name of a member, and we need to find the right book for them to read over the Christmas/New Year’s period. There are about 20 people
in the book club, so it’s not as easy as it sounds. I also like to set myself new bookish challenges.

For 2025, I’m planning to give myself a monthly mystery book challenge. I’m going to wrap 12 similarly sized books and randomly assign each to a different month of the year. I’m pretty sure I’ll forget which one is which by the next day, so every month I’ll get a little surprise.

Finally, I enjoy switching off around this time of year and reflecting on how the year has been professionally and personally and what I would like to do more or differently next year. I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but it is undeniably a good time to stop the mad work rush and reflect on everything.

A GOOD REASON TO HAVE DINNER TOGETHER

Noman’s story

People in Pakistan mostly don’t celebrate Christmas.
Nevertheless it’s a National holiday and generally people just get together and have a dinner anyway.

Schools and Universities also have winter vacations
from 20th Dec until the new year. Usually during this time I go and visit my family in Pakistan or in other European countries, or have dinner with friends somewhere.