Escaping the Christmas?

For those who remember the movie "Christmas with the Kranks," a brilliant comedy about the stresses that Christmas involves and a plan to escape them even if only for one year, maybe this is the time to make some serious considerations about it.

My husband and I are generally escaping it like in the movie, but we are luckier, and we get really to leave (LOL).
The fact is not escaping the dinners, the relatives, and the feelings. It is mostly connected with the melancholic mood that Finnish Christmas is bringing along.
The week before Christmas the streets are a real explosion of lights, happy faces, hurrying people, sounds and joy.
This lasts until the 23rd of December.
After that, Finland transforms that happiness into a dystopian nightmare.
Totally deserted streets that still keep their lights on. Restaurants are almost empty if not closed for the season. Like humanity has been wiped out from the planet.


This lasts until the 26th. After that, with the starting back of the working life, the streets become once again busy and jolly, getting ready for the New Year's Eve celebrations.

Jokes and sarcasm apart, the fact is that Christmas in Finland is meant to be spent only with the family. We use to spend our time indoors taking the time to talk and enjoy each other company, which during the rest of the year might become more complicated due to the different schedules, work, and other issues that seem to keep people apart.

Our escape is not an escape from
the family gatherings, it is instead an escape from the depression that grabs our hearts when going for a walk in the city.

The solution that puts together the family celebrations and the escape plan?
Easy peasy!
Spend Christmas Eve with the family, and the morning after, fly away to a far away holiday until the New Year. Since Finnish people celebrate mostly the Eves than the real days of holiday, this seems to be the best solution for all.

Now another little suggestion to lighten the stress.
The gifts!

What to give nowadays to people, when we have all that we desire if not too much of it?
The answer is to keep it simple!
What is the thing that people need and appreciate is something that doesn't cram the shelves or storages, so what about something that fills the bellies?
Yes, I am talking about food.
We are generally preparing for the whole family cookies, mustard, jams, liver pate and similar. All, of course, homemade, nothing bought ready.
You might think that it takes time, but what about the time you spend thinking about the right gift to buy, the run to the shops hoping they still have the item you are looking for?
Isn't it better just do the grocery and stay calmly at home preparing the food packets?
However, this year, we are not planning to travel anywhere, just take it easy and spend the time in the family, planning the next trip.
Sometimes it is good not to have any plan and enjoy your holidays day after day without overthinking about any program.

With this, I wish you a great weekend and a fantastic holiday season to you all!