Christmas abroad

[PandB]

I am an expat spending my first Christmas abroad.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Traditionally we spend Christmas with my family in the UK and I am already thinking about how much I will miss them this coming Christmas.

Just wondering whether anyone has any tips or new Christmas traditions which might distract me/ stop me yearning for home? No children yet so just us two. Our friends who celebrate Christmas will be spending it with family.

[Bertrude]

Whereabouts are you PandB ? Are you somewhere that there's sufficient Christmassy stuff to keep you entertained?

We've done 3 Christmases abroad now. We also have no children and are in Dubai. There's a few Christmas fayres on so we always go to them in the run up.

Nothing will stop you missing the family back home, but it is a good time to start your own traditions. We've done restaurant Christmas dinner just the two of us, restaurant with another couple, and this year I'm cooking for 8 of us.

Our traditions that we've stolen from friends out here created, no matter what the plan for actual dinner is, is as follows:

Christmas Eve: finish work at lunchtime, meet in the Mall for some lunch and to finish off any bits of shopping and to look at the ski slope to pretend it's cold. Curry takeaway for tea whilst watching Muppets Christmas Carol and Miracle of 34th Street. Open 1 present each from each other - we've started going a bit more over the top with how many presents we buy each other to make up for the fact that we won't get many, if any, from people back home so we have 1 big present, 3 middle presents and a few smaller ones. We open 1 middle present on Christmas Eve. Then off to the pub to meet anyone who is here for Christmas.

Christmas Day: Wake up, bacon butty in bed, open presents from each other excluding the big present, then to our mate's uncle's house. He has an open house for anyone they know for a couple of hours with mulled wine, mince pies, everyone has to bring a tacky secret santa, and then thrown out at 12:30 to go and do your own thing for dinner. We go for dinner, come back, do a jigsaw or play with my new lego he always buys me lego whilst watching another christmas DVD, then Skype everyone back home and open presents from them whilst on the video call after their dinner then go for a wander down the beach just because we can. Then come home and open our big present from each other with a brandy in bed watching another Christmas film.

Boxing Day: Straight in the pub over the road for 11am to have breakfast. Again, its whoever is available from our mates. We sit and watch every football match which is on so its often 3 matches, and then pile back to ours for a BBQ.

The best thing is, you can actually do what you want. Skyping the family on the video will both help and hurt because you'll want to be there, but at least you can share in their day in some way.