Yep, two major events this month. Christmas, and Margot's birthday! :) She turned the big 1-8 here with us in America!
Before we left for Wisconsin, we celebrated Christmas as a family here with our gifts and (some new) traditions. Because we have a foreigner (whom we wanted to learn more about) in our home or the holidays we were very lucky to be able to celebrate Christmas twice! Yes, Santa (or some guy close to it) comes to Belgian homes TWICE in the month of December (the night of the 5th, and the night of the 24th)! Sweet, huh?! We were all for it! Rather than hanging stockings, they place a (worn everyday) shoe by the fireplace with a carrot inside it (or celery, if you are like us and out of carrots) for Santa's horse (yes, horse) to eat and bowl of water for his equine to drink.
On the kitchen table, Santa gets water to drink (we gave him cookies, too) and his "Helper" (a little black man) gets WINE to drink. (Yeah, poor Santa gets gypped...) Santa places your little gifts by your shoe for you to get when you get up the next morning. (You get the "big" gifts on Christmas morning, the 25th, just like in America)...
Shawn's family came to visit. His mother, Yogie, stepfather, Rodger, sister, Sonya, brother-in-law, Dustin and niece, Allison...
We spent our Christmas holiday in Wisconsin with family, for a week. We had a great time playing in the snow (it was cold, but that didn't stop us!)...
Trying different restaurants (had our pictures taken in front of the fireplace at one of them - long story), visiting old favorites and visiting with family and friends...
It was perfect.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours!
~The Ditsch Family
