Hi everybody :)

Another big thing to talk about now is Christmas. Obviously everybody knows when it was, but there was a little difference to Christmas in Germany. That one thing is that Christmas is on the 25th here and not on the 24th as it is in Germany. So what you do here on the 24th, Christmas Eve, is you're preparing the food for the next day and you basically do nothing. Before you go to bed you're allowed to open one present. I got a little teddy bear with a Canada sweater on. It is so cute. Oh and another important thing is that you hang your stocking, normally over the fireplace, but because we don't have one we just put them on the couch. Then you go to bed and wait for Santa Claus. When you wake up the next morning you go in the living room and open your stocking and the presents under the tree, which are under the tree a week before Christmas already. You do all that in pyjamas and then have a little breakfast that is more chocolate than anything else. 

When you opened your presents you get ready for the day and prepare the food. Now I'm telling you what my family did on Christmas day, because I think that is different in every family. We were preparing the food, Annika (a German friend that spent Christmas with me, because my host sister is gone for the holidays and her host family is gone too) were cutting and peeling the vegetables and doing to turkey. After that we waited for the other people to arrive. We were 10 people in the house, my host parents, my host brother, Annika, M&K (Swiss friends of my host parents) and M&C, my host mum's sister and her husband, their son and me. We had a lot of fun and when they arrived we ate a little bit of cake and got more presents. Then we had bacon wrapped scallops, they weren't that good but not that bad, they taste different. We talked and laughed a lot and before we ate we opened crackers, in them is a joke, a little present and a little paper hat. Everybody wore the hats and most of the jokes were quite funny. Then we had the traditional Christmas dinner, turkey, potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts and some other vegetables and of course gravy and cranberry sauce. It was really good, but I was so full after all that! Then everybody sat back on the couch and we were talking, looking at pictures and just having fun. Around 10pm everybody left and we had to clean the kitchen and the table. It took us a while, but then we were finally done. It was an awesome day and for letting the day having a nice ending, my host family, Annika and me were watching a movie "Love actually". That was a very nice end for this awesome day and we were going to bed around 1:30am. 

I really like Canadian Christmas but Germany is still my home and I missed our traditions a lot. But you know what I'm gonna do? I really want to have a stocking next year in Germany too, that is really cool!

On December 26th is Boxing Day in Canada and the stores have incredible sales the week of the Boxing Day. Everything is on sale and a lot of families already buy their Christmas stuff for next year and the stores are unbelievable full! But they have really good deals.

This week we're not doing anything special and then it's 2013 soon! I can't believe how fast this year went by! There were so many cool things happening and I made so many memories! Thank you to everybody that helped me living my dream and who were an important part of it! I love you all I hope you're having a good New Year's Eve and a happy new year 2013! Thanks to everybody that is reading my blog and I would be really happy to get more comments on it!! I'm always happy to answer questions too, so don't hesitate to ask and please write more comments next year :D I think I'm gonna write in 2013 the next time so happy new year to everybody and thanks again! 

I love you all! Merry Christmas and a happy new year! <3

Julia