Trimming the Tree, Decking the Halls and Other Holiday Shenanigans

I think it’s safe to say that we officially dove into our Christmas celebrations two weeks ago with the purchase of our drunken little Christmas tree and we really haven’t paused to draw breath since.  Meaning, I’ve kind of had my head out of the goings-on of the world at-large and have hunkered down to spend time with my little family.  Really—just the family--because everyone else has been sick or out of town for the holiday.  It’s been quiet and there is a deliberateness with which we spend our days.   

Ein Schönen Baum, Ja?

Two Fridays ago, I had my mind stubbornly set on a Christmas tree.  I was not going to bed without a festive evergreen gracing the corner of my living room.  And, in the end, I got what I asked for…just in the most hilarious way possible.  We bought our tree from a gent at the Karlsplatz UBahn station—August Krautwurst.  If he could’ve presented a more inebriated self, we would’ve had to scrape him off the floor.  As it was, it took us 30 seconds to select a tree and then ten minutes to convince August that we wanted to buy it.  I’m not sure if I was expected to haggle a great deal or start kicking the tree trunk and pulling at branches, but after stretching my vocabulary to the limit, trying to think of more than ten ways to say “I want to buy this tree”, all it really took was waving fifty Euros under old August’s nose for him to get the point.  His drunken brother man-handled our tree into some netting and haphazardly hammered a wooden stand to it’s base.  After a few wobbles himself, he decided it was ‘straight enough’ and we headed home, where we welcomed what is, to my mind, the most festive aspect of our family Christmas.  

Our drunken little tree leans a bit to the left—not quite perfect—just like the hodge podge ornaments gracing it’s boughs; old family ornaments collected through the years and a few new ones to mark our first Christmas in Vienna.  The girls and I spent time making paper chains and stringing popcorn and cranberries to top off our misfit little tree…now we spend a lot of time sitting on the couch together just looking.  Bailey prefers to walk around the tree touching each ornament with one finger…and I indulge her because every ornament on that tree holds a different memory for me.  I remember making some of the silly baubles hanging from the branches—or receiving them as gifts…but most of all, I remember years upon years of gazing at them hanging on my parent’s Christmas tree.  If my girls remember nothing else from Vienna, I hope this little Austrian Christmas is the thing that sticks.

cookies!!

We made sure all of our shopping for the month was done early and everything shipped to the states several weeks ago, so we’ve really been at our leisure, enjoying spending time together.  We made the mandatory trek out to the Christmas Market at Schönbrunn (tourists!! The horror!) We made brownies and snickerdoodles for Audrey’s teachers (baking things at home is apparently a rarity here) and we got to see Audrey perform at her school Christmas party.  And by “perform”, I mean, she actually did not have a pained expression on her face and she did several of the motions to accompany the songs.  This is big news!  Unfortunately, the rest of her “party” she spent glued to my side while her sister had a mental breakdown because a) I made her take off her Randy Parker winter gear after she spent thirty minutes sweating in it and b) there was a baby who was learning to walk toddling around the room. This is inexplicably horrifying for my little bear.  Why?  I cannot fathom, but she is terrified of babies becoming mobile. 

At least she's not the only kid with fingers in her mouth

Luckily, after the forced road march from Audrey’s school to the train station…after making both of the girls sit on a bench and telling them that we would skip every train that came until they BOTH stopped crying…God sent me a savior…in the form of a little child. Imagine that…only this kid’s name is Coen and I’m certain he and his mother were sent by God himself to escort us home on the train.  This cheeky little Australian boy squeezed between Audrey and me, held both of our hands and made faces at Bailey all the way home.  Audrey even planted a big old kiss on his lips when he got off the train; I’d ask him to marry her, but he’s leaving in January.  Tragic.  Luckily, little Coen turned our entire day around and we spent the rest of the afternoon ignoring things that needed to be done around the house and chose to color for hours instead. 

look at that sugar-crazed gleam in her eye!

At the Belvedere

Soon, Audrey was in full-on Christmas break and we even made it out of the house to go decorate cookies at a friend’s house (read: eat lots of candy and chase the dog).  Saturday was our first real day of vacation with John around and we made our way out to the Christmas market at the Belvedere Palace.  It was lovely—we got there early enough that the crowds hadn’t quite arrived and we basically stuffed ourselves, starting with roasted chestnuts, cheese, salami, potatoes and pickles, then moved on to strawberries dipped in (pink!) chocolate, some wurst and fries…and then more roasted nuts to top it off.  Considering I had so recently recovered from food poisoning, this was pretty ballsy in my book, but it was worth it.  We were absolutely jolly as we raced home with frozen toes to watch some Harry Potter. (I am so thrilled to have converted both girls to the fan club.)  

The Weihnachtsbim!

Later that evening, Bailey and I ditched Audrey and John and popped down to the Ring to ride the Weihnachtsbim (the Christmas tram).  We bought our tickets and received krapfen (donuts) from Santa as we boarded.  Both the exterior and interior of the tram were decked out for the holidays, there was cheesy Christmas music playing and everyone on board just seemed happy (this never happens on any other tram...maybe Vienna should try giving out donuts to increase the population's overal stick-in-the-mud demeanor).  Bailey ended up falling asleep after about two minutes, so I got to enjoy a really relaxing ride around the Ring, looking at Vienna's Christmas lights.  It was really nice.  When we got home, Bailey announced: "I saw Santa!  He gave me a donut!".  Best. Santa. Sighting. Yet.  

Overall, we’re just nauseatingly happy; so happy to be spending time together, even if it’s rainy days spent playing elaborate games of make-believe and talking about what we want to do around the city before Christmas.  A lot of people we know are leaving town for the holiday, but we’re ecstatic to be here.  This is the first Christmas we’ve made for ourselves, and while we’re certainly feeling very real pangs of loss for family traditions spent apart, we know that we’re also making something new and beautiful—that this Christmas together is holy.