The Holidays in Britain!

It’s Friday afternoon and John and I are both home.  Sad to say, John got the flu yesterday so he has been home sick :(  As it turns out the American flu shot does not prevent against European strands of the flu.  He’s taking a nap now, so hopefully he starts feeling better soon!  Poor guy!

Christmas Popper!

We have had some fun things happen over the past week or so leading up to Christmas.  We had two Christmas parties last week, one here in Truro and another in the coastal town of Falmouth.  The Christmas party in Truro was at a hotel and went really well.  I met a handful of John’s colleagues and we also had a sit-down, five-course dinner.   Each setting had a Christmas cracker (or holiday popper), which when pulled open, makes a popping sound.  The Christmas crackers are typically used on the table as a decoration and contain a fun surprise of candy, a small gift, toys, a written joke or a paper crown. 

Then last Friday night, we had a more formal Christmas party at a hotel in Falmouth.  It was definitely an escapade getting to the party!  We ran into a closed train line, a late bus, getting lost once we were in Falmouth and going to the wrong hotel!  By the time we got to the hotel we were worried about being those Americans who show up late to a dinner party.  Luckily for us, the dinner started an hour and a half late, so no one even realized we were running behind.  Whew!  Once we were there, we had a really nice time.  The hotel was gorgeous and we had a super nice dinner.  We did have to leave a bit early though, as we didn’t want to miss the last bus home.  There are definitely days I miss having a vehicle! 

Or as we call it, baking soda :-)

Once the Christmas parties were finished, we had a really nice and low-key weekend here in Truro.  We decided to make cookies and hot cider on Saturday and have somewhat of a Christmas weekend.  We had multiple laughs at the grocery store and at home trying to figure out recipes that had American measurements and ingredients and figuring out how they translated here.  We found out baking soda = bicarbonate of soda and Crisco = a stick of vegetable fat.  I also spent some time online figuring out how to convert some of the measurements (such as grams to cups)…..thank god for Google!!!!  The peanut butter blossom cookies (no Hershey kisses here, so tried chocolate buttons as a substitute) and hot cider both turned out really well, so worth the effort. 

It’s been great trying out some British Christmas traditions.  We have had mulled wine, mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake.  We have heard many references to “Father Christmas” (a.k.a. Santa) and about how popular pantomime is this time of year for children and their parents.  And we are looking forward to hearing the Queen’s yearly Christmas message on Christmas Day.  Even though we are lacking the cold and the snow, it has truly felt like the Christmas season here.

Our Charlie Brown 3-Foot Christmas Tree

If John is feeling better, we have tickets to see a Christmas concert at the cathedral here in Truro tomorrow.  Then next week is already Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  We head to Bristol Wednesday night and then fly out to Prague early Thursday morning.  So we are definitely getting excited for our first big trip since moving here!  But more than anything, we are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together, while hopefully skyping and chatting with friends and family.