Well the Klars afar had a fantastic time during our first Christmas season here in Taipei.

We started the Holiday Season in our usual fashion when the Advent Calendars arrived from Nana & Poppa in the UK. For those of you unfamiliar with the custom, this is a 25-day calendar with a chocolate candy in a compartment behind each of the 25 dates of December leading up and including Christmas Day. This peculiarly British practice allows children to eat chocolate before breakfast for almost a month and also helps to answer 7-year old Bodhi’s daily query, “So how many more days until Christmas?” Providing the subsequent explanation affords a valuable teaching moment and builds strong math skills as we count down the days together. As parents we were able to practice patience and attempt to explain the concept of linear time when he regularly exploded, “Why can’t we just have Christmas today?”

25 pieces of chocolate spread over the whole month of December.

Griffin clearly appears bored already. Bodhi seems anxious to chomp some chocolate!

Griffin imagines the first piece of chocolate melting in his mouth while Bodhi finally realises he is holding a month’s worth of candy in his hot little hands.

We also enjoyed the Winter Wonderland event at Taipei American School. This was an all-day extravaganza with food, Santa, games, food, snowmen (yes, even here in sub-tropical Taiwan, folks), crafts, food and….did I mention the food.

Next on our agenda was a visit to Wendel’s, a local German Bakery. Each year they hold a fabulous Gingerbread Decorating workshop for kids. Skilled cake decorators assist the children so the parents are allowed to mingle and and drink.

Christmas Eve involved the normal stuff. Kids who don’t want to go to sleep, parents who want to get the presents under the tree so they can hit the sack and dad having a bit too much Christmas Spirit. We almost had the kids in bed when Bodhi suddenly realised that here in Taiwan we live in an apartment on the 6th floor with no chimney. How is Santa going to get into our home and deliver his bounty? Griffin, who at nine going on nineteen thinks he knows everything but won’t dare say he doesn’t believe in Santa as it may jeopardize his annual haul, snorted and chuckled in his wisdom as we explained to Bodhi that Santa will land on our balcony and we will leave the sliding glass door unlocked. This satisfies him enough to get him to go to bed. Finally.

Even though it seemed like it took a million years (Cue Bodhi screaming, “WHY CAN’T IT JUST BE CHRISTMAS TODAY?”), the sun finally rose for two anxious little boys on December 25th. And boy did they make out!

So we all had a magical time during the holidays and we hope you did too. Thanks for reading our blog and don’t ever forget we love and miss you all.

Next post: our trip to Sun Hoon Lake!

–the Klars Afar