Oh, Christmas Tree

I'm back!  It wasn't planned but apparently I needed to step away from the blog.

My post planner has been screaming at me for over week, but I use post-it notes for my planned post

and they all just took a little march forward in the calendar so that I could take a breather.

I love this blog, but sometimes you just need a break, AmIright?

 Now I'm back to squeeze in a few more posts before Christmas.

This is my second Christmas since we moved and I was a bit nervous about the whole month of December.

I had a bit of a wobble over Thanksgiving with a bout of the Expat Holiday Blues.

But, I've recovered quite nicely.  (Thank you for your sweet comments.)

I told Matthew the other day that I've discovered the key to getting through Christmas
when you are far from family and friends.
Lowered Expectations!

I say that with tongue in cheek, but there is some wisdom in there.

Last year I was desperately grasping for the perfect London Christmas.
I ordered a big honkin' Christmas tree but after opening just a few boxes of ornaments
I couldn't get any further.  That massive bare Christmas tree sat there all Christmas taunting me.

So, this year I decided to go a little easier on myself.  No expectations of the perfect London Christmas. 
Just play it all by ear and proceed cautiously.  And I have to say, it's going well.

And we have the cutest Christmas Tree ever.

On a chilly Sunday afternoon, we were both feeling a bit "meh."

"Want to go get a tree?"  "I don't care.  Do you?"

We decided to just get it done and headed over to Greenwich Park to pick up a tree.

I immediately spotted a perfectly shaped four foot spruce and decided that was the one.

They wrapped it up, we put in in the back seat and were home in thirty minutes.

No drama and we were both starting to perk up.

We weren't really sure if we would decorate it right away but the tree shopping seemed to perk us both up.

We put on Christmas Vacation which always makes me laugh like crazy.

Matt quickly got to work stringing the lights and I started getting out the ornaments.

I love ornaments.  I've been collecting them for years and each one holds a special memory.

I keep a basket on the bookshelf and we fill it up as we travel.

So, we started with our 2013 collection remembering all of the great trips we've taken this year. 

Then I started opening the boxes containing the ornaments from previous years.

My ornament collection was one thing that I insisted that we bring with us when we moved.

And I'm so proud.  I was able to open every single box this year and it made me so happy.

So many wonderful memories going all the way back to when I was a little girl.

And it felt so good to put Jessica's ornaments on the tree.

Even though we can't be together for Christmas, this is a family tree and she is a huge part of it.

In fact, there were so many ornaments that they all don't fit on our cute little tree.

I just put the overflow into bowls and baskets on the coffee table.

I wanted to have them all out this year to remind me of so many blessings.

 I love our little tree and the first thing I do in the morning is to turn on those lights.
There is just something about a real tree.

Last year I shared some tips for getting through the holidays far from home.

They really are helping me get through this year.

And I've added one more tip... lower your expectations.

But, in a good way.

What are your tips for getting through the holidays far from loved ones?

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