Last year, we were missing our family & friends. No longer our first Christmas in Germany, we glumly drank our glühwein , shuffled through the numerous Weihnachtsmarkt and sighed through carols of Stille Nacht. (Ok - maybe Christmas in Germany isn't so bad).
Then I had an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch - ahem! me - got a wonderful, *awful* idea! What if we sent the parents a photo everyday in a photo advent calendar? And not just any photo. An instant classic PorterBalls shot. Like this one:
We loved it. And the parents, long-suffering parents waiting for a "nice picture" of the two of us, loved it too. So when this Christmas rolled around, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Thinking of our costumes took slightly longer. Like the Halloween conundrum for female costumes, ideally I was looking for something that was funny and flattering, allowing me to look awesome, hilarious, and dance the night away. In the 11th hour, I figured it out: German wind-up doll! (Thanks English for making this happen). For Ian's, we went to the thrift store, he bought a ridiculous jacket, and BAM! 80s ski bum. He always makes it look easy.
Check out the rest of the bad-ass costumes and scenes from the Weihnachtsmarkt here.
Ian brainstormed and figured out how we could fly into Basel, Switzerland which was only about 2ish hours from the park. That is how the amazing Basel, Bern, EuropaPark, Freiburg weekend happened. And it was incredible. (Full review to follow)
7 more pics next week (and behind the scenes shots right here). Fröhliche Weihnachten!
And if you want more examples of what not to do in a Christmas photos, here are the shots from last year:
Then I had an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch - ahem! me - got a wonderful, *awful* idea! What if we sent the parents a photo everyday in a photo advent calendar? And not just any photo. An instant classic PorterBalls shot. Like this one:
 |
| Crazy Sears Christmas Picture (with adorable bunny) |
We loved it. And the parents, long-suffering parents waiting for a "nice picture" of the two of us, loved it too. So when this Christmas rolled around, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Counting Down to Christmas
December 1st
When my friend Kyla (Killah in Germany) suggested a Kris Kringle Pub Crawl I paused for about -1 second. YES! Yes. A thousand times yes. I am in.Thinking of our costumes took slightly longer. Like the Halloween conundrum for female costumes, ideally I was looking for something that was funny and flattering, allowing me to look awesome, hilarious, and dance the night away. In the 11th hour, I figured it out: German wind-up doll! (Thanks English for making this happen). For Ian's, we went to the thrift store, he bought a ridiculous jacket, and BAM! 80s ski bum. He always makes it look easy.
Dec 2nd
It's funny what we request for a gift box nowadays. Zollamt, random customs, and heavy price tags to send things from Seattle have slowed the sending of care packages, but we do love a postcard to a birthday letter to a full-on package. Spam, Libby's pumpkin mix, candy...from a couple of food lovers that have learned to make most things from scratch, there are still tastes of home you just can't replicate. And than there are gifts like Roald Dahl's cookbook which is inspiring and intimidating, a poster about love from "Here to Berlin", and my dad's homemade baklava.
Dec 3rd
For my birthday, I had 2 wishes. I wanted to ride on a roller coaster and didn't want to plan it. Ian (mostly) had it covered. After I found EuropaPark - 2nd biggest in Europe & in biggest in Germany - our fate seemed sealed. However, the park was about as from Berlin as it could be, tucked into the SW corner.Ian brainstormed and figured out how we could fly into Basel, Switzerland which was only about 2ish hours from the park. That is how the amazing Basel, Bern, EuropaPark, Freiburg weekend happened. And it was incredible. (Full review to follow)
December 4th
Ian was so proud to bring home this beer. We had never seen it before, so I guess that makes it special. It is a scratch-off, meaning that you can scratch off Ms. Marina's clothes to make her a nude. Classy. But apparently the marketing worked because he did bring it home.
December 5th
Bella is always wanting to get out the windows or onto the balconies to complete a short-term escape. She (almost) always is back within minutes, conditioned to the warmth and comfort of inside. We decided if she wanted to be outside so much, maybe she'd like the snow. She did not.
December 6th
Ian's kids at the kita are 3-4, he has been with most of them for 2+ years, and they are crazy adorable. As snow fell in earnest for the first time this week, there was little more to say than...
December 7th
We can see the Fernsehturm from our apartment and every morning I open my eyes to this view. Sun, sunrise, snow, or just winter - I love it.
7 more pics next week (and behind the scenes shots right here). Fröhliche Weihnachten!
If you're having trouble getting in the mood for Christmas, here are some of our
that always make us feel jolly.
And if you want more examples of what not to do in a Christmas photos, here are the shots from last year:
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