Maybe it's the palm trees and tropical foliage. Maybe it's the warm sunny weather. Maybe it's because I finished most of my Christmas shopping in early November. Whatever it is, I haven't been able to channel the holiday and Christmas spirit/nostalgia/energy that I usually can conjure effortlessly.
Then, yesterday was art and drama day at school, including a preview of the Christmas concert.
So I thought maybe it was time to start listening to Christmas music...and then Songza shut down twice as I tried to listen to a new Christmas station. Bah humbug.
Then as I observed lots of Christmas decorations on our way downtown, I thought that maybe it's not about Bangkok; it's my associations...
I associate the start of the Christmas season with shopping, shivering in cold temperatures, finding and decorating a ridiculously tall tree, and enjoying delicious hot beverages. Really it's about anticipation, family, friends, and love, and I have all of that.
Thanks to Skype and FaceTime I'm incredibly connected to the people most important to me who aren't in Thailand. I've also made great new friends here--we hosted the Thai-edition of Friends Thanksgiving last weekend.
I'm also spoiled because my sister and new brother-in-law are going to travel here for Christmas and New Years!
Finally, I've got this guy who surprised me a few weeks ago with our second Charlie Brown Christmas tree in a decade.
So it's time for me to adopt new holiday traditions...like picking flowers from the tree over our driveway to put on our tiny tree, the Santa Run in a few days (we'll see how running a 5K in a Santa jacket and hat goes in 85 degree weather), and packing for Christmas on the beach in Phuket!
At the same time, I'm ready to reinstitute some other holiday traditions. Cue the Christmas music that may play from now until the 25th.
Happy Holiday Season to All!
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