Christmas in Japan

When you decide to celebrate Christmas in another
country, you never quite know what to expect. My
experience in Asia is that Christmas more often is
a 'miss', but when you see something that reminds
you of Christmas back home, it's a 'hit.'
Posing with a reindeer statue is a definite 'hit.'

Merry Christmas, spelled correctly? Spot on.

Having to wear a scarf for the chill in the air? Also a 'hit'.

Having more twinkle lights than Clark
Griswald?  Also a definite 'hit.'

The reason Christmas was looking so good in
Japan is we were walking about the "American
Village" on Okinawa Island. No wonder!

If Santa was late getting to you this past Christmas
he was imbibing too much with his reindeer.

He may have been delayed because he was
engrossed in a book in Japan.

Maxwell Todd waited patiently under the tree for him.
Christmas Eve afternoon, sis and I took a break
from the baking to get our Christmas toes painted.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Christmas toes :)
We made ALL the cookies; peppermint chocolate
frosted cookies, jam thumbprints, homemade oreos,
salted caramel cookies, and iced cut outs.

Good times :)

There were no Christmas cookie cutters to be found on the
island. Ellie was able to eventually borrow some Christmas
ones from some Pilot's wives, but in the meantime, nothing
says 'Christmas' like purple kitties in bow ties...

...or blue hedgehogs!  When you live on an island, in a
country that really does not celebrate Christmas, you make
do with what you can find. I learned that lesson in China.

We had a Christmas Eve ham dinner, drank
more wine, decorated the Christmas cut out
cookies, and watched Christmas vacation.
You can't break with traditions, no matter
where you are living :)

And dinner that night was topped with
one of great grandma's sugar pies <3
Speaking of Christmas dinner....here's a Japanese fun fact:

The Japanese on Okinawa Island celebrate Christmas by making reservations at Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner.

You read that right.

RESERVATIONS!

at KFC!

It is so popular, that people start calling in October to get their table reserved.  Apparently, that is their interpretation of celebrating Christmas the American way, lol.  I realize that nothing is more American than baseball, fried chicken and apple pie, but NEVER IN MY LIFE did my family ever go to KFC to celebrate Christmas.

That one cracked me up!
The silliness continued until the wine ran out...
ask Herb about that 😜
No Christmas Eve is complete until we watch
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Emily
had the presence of mind to buy the DVD for
Ellie with instructions to open it that night.
It was a perfect gift to her sister living abroad <3
Christmas morning came, and Willow the
pup didn't know what was happening...
Maxwell knew the drill; Santa always leaves
him 'special suppers'. Willis knows the drill, too 😻

It was a first for Ellie and Herb to do stockings for each
other, and they got many of the same things, lol.

Willow pup patiently waited for her peanut butter bone.

We 'lit a fire' and listened to Christmas music as we opened
presents.  Not surprisingly, when we spoke to Emily back in
Indiana, she and Chase had the same 'fireplace' in their living room!

Herb surprised Ellie with an owl mug from the
kitty and owl cafe we visited in Kyoto :)

And Ellie surprised her chemistry nerd husband
with a new cutting board with the periodic elements.
He loved it, because it included all the 'new ones.'
(Sadly, I didn't know the periodic table had
changed since I was in school. Oops.)
The kids surprised me with a red tervis tumbler and a
 red 'Cockettes' tank top from the 67th Squadron (perfect
for Florida sailing) a nifty new passport cover, and this
scratch off world map! Of all the countries I have traveled
 to, it doesn't look like much once you start scratchin'. 
It also presents a bit of a quandary...I didn't scratch off
 all of Canada, since I have only been to three provinces.
Or since I have been to Canada, should I scratch the
 whole country off?? I can't decide! When I got home,
  Len said that was the most expensive gift ever,
because now I will want to travel even MORE 😉

What kitty doesn't love a paper sack for Christmas....
especially a paper sack that is infused with catnip?!

Clearly, Maxwell Todd loved his catnip paper sack!

And that, my friends, was a Christmas wrap!

G'nite, y'all!















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