I forgot to write about Christmas Eve. I had a good Christmas this year.

The morning started out with delivering Christmas chocolates to family-friends. We got a 5-hour tour of many Stockholm suburbs, including a couple apartments, a country farmhouse, and a ride on the ferry. The people at the houses gave us chocolate pieces and said that it was a Swedish tradition to give something back if a person delivers a gift. Some also gave us tours of their homes so I could see how they were decorated.

People tend to decorate their windows here much more than in the States. They put up holiday-themed curtains and display upside-down v-shaped candleholders and lit up stars. I also noticed alot of amaryllis bulbs.

We got home just in time for Kalle Anka (swedish for Donald Duck), the yearly Disney Christmas special. It’s a set of edited clips from throughout the years, and dubbed in Swedish, and with Swedish subtitles. I recognized quite a few of the clips, but had a hard time understanding it because of the dubbing.

Afterward was dinner - salted ham, mashed potatoes, mashed parsnip, ham and cheese sandwiches, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. For desert, we had rice pudding. Usually the one who finds the almond/cinnamon stick in their pudding dish either has to do the dishes or has good luck for the next year.  I wasn’t clear which, but it was delicious.

That evening, we opened presents. Thomas’ family was very kind to me and I received many gifts - alot of kitchen and bath items.  Thomas got me a gift certificate for a day spa in Georgia. Thomas’ sister was able to be included from North Carolina by connecting with us on video conference and through a recorded DVD of Thomas’ niece.
I took a few photos of throughout the day and of some of the traditional decorations around the house. The entry photo shows a tasty treat called bulla - like little sweet rolls, but with marzipan and pearl sugar.

• Christmas Eve photos