We’re celebrating our 3rd Christmas overseas, this time in Bali. You’d never know that it’s Christmas time. The sun is as shiny and warm as ever. The blue pool calls our name every morning for a swim. There are no decorations around town that would hint that it’s December and we should be buying gifts for each other. It’s strange catching up with friends back in the states. They talk about snow, shopping and decorating. After 3 years, it’s still refreshing to not be doing any of that.

So we make our own Christmas. Our Hindu friends send blessed wishes. Even though I haven’t been to a formal church in a long time, I enjoy the tradition of Christmas: presents, lights, Santa, a Christmas tree and the joy my children get from simple gifts.

Some traditions, like broken lights, never change.

Seems a bit strange to celebrate such an enormous religious event only one day a year. Especially living among the Hindu culture, where they spend 40% of their time celebrating God every day.

Last year, we made a tropical Christmas tree in Belize and then jumped on a little Cessna plane for a week long adventure of backpacking with the kids. This year we opted to stay at home. We made a simple colored chain to decorate our palm leaf we chopped down from our garden.

Christmas Decorations for our Palm Tree

Lights completed the look of the perfect Tropical Christmas Tree.

Christmas at Home.

We didn’t actually celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day. I wasn’t feeling the best and took the day to lay in bed and rest. We watched a movie that evening and left Santa a little candy treat on Christmas Day Night.

Watching “The Polar Express” for the 2nd time.

Does it really matter what day Christmas is? Not really.

The following day Santa left a multitude of gifts. The first gift was for us adults: children waking up happy. Miss I crawled up in our bed to play with me and tell me “Mama, you’re so cute. I love you.” Hugs and kisses to my ray of sunshine. G woke up and was in awe that Santa really came.

Awesome Santa Claus.

We spent the morning opening gifts, playing and eating candy. Breakfast was forgotten. Sugar highs were on the agenda.

G: “How did Santa know we love peanuts?”

Santa brought a remote control car for G, which became the favorite play toy for hours.

Remote Control crash course. He’s a natural.

And a beautiful necklace and princess headband for Miss I. She wanted pictures from every angle, especially the ribbons on the back, which make her fly.

A flying princess

So we sipped coffee, enjoyed the sugar high laughs of mentos and chachas and forgot about the sugar crash. After all, the nanny’s here today.

Merry Christmas!