To wrap up our personal Christmas here in greater Berlin – after spending quite some time wrapping things during the days leading up to this special evening – I have to talk about the priceless gifts of this evening.

It started out with decorating the tree, finding that all tinsel gathered over the last couple of months came together quite nicely against the backdrop of dark green foliage and our living room. My sweetheart called the tree the “masterpiece” at my few attempts so far, to make a simple fir looking festive. That made me happy. Same as the great Christmas dinner, cooked by sweatheart – he made pumpkin soup with coconut milk for starters, roast pheasant stuffed with mushrooms and parsley with a side of mushed potatoes, all topped with an excellent sauce and Moussé au chocolat for dessert.

As for the tree, here are a couple of pics, as requested by a friend of mine:

My sweetheart was looking a bit flabbergasted, when he opened his main gift from me – a bit of old Amsterdam cheese, a ticket to Rijksmuseum and a card that told him, he has to work out the meaning of it on his own. After a while it dawned on him, that we are going to Amsterdam soon and he was very pleased. As I am. Have never been there before and am already looking forward to this trip.

I discussed with sweetheart before Christmas, what to give his mom. It was a bit difficult to think of something for an 89 year old woman, who is hard of hearing and almost blind. Finally it dawned on me: time, spending time with her would just be the thing. And it was. His mom was in tears, when she realised, we are taking her on a weekend away in January.  I know a real nice hotel not two hours away from here to the north, sitting on a big lake, close to a cosy village with a castle, where I have booked us all into. She kept going on about it all night. This made me happy, too.

And of course, all the nice things, I received. Although my biggest present came a couple of weeks prior to Christmas. In the form of a telephone call from Circumstance‘s husband, enquiring, whether his wife and kids are welcome to visit me in Berlin. Which of course they are! That was going to be his Christmas present for his wife this year. I don’t think he realises, he also gives me a big present at the same time. And sweetheart is really looking forward to it, too. I was so touched, when I found five tickets to a concert in one of my parcels, for the time of their visit. That was really thoughtful of him. He obviously has planned out their stay with us in detail, already. He is such a gem!