What are your plans for CHristmas 2008?

[Martin Quinlan]

This coming Christmas I plan to be in Singapore for Christmas.

My wife will be working there before Christmas and so we decided to turn it into a holiday for us!

Christmas dinner will be the at the famed Raffles Hotel and will be the sumptuous Christmas Buffet. All you can eat in luxurious 5 star surroundings from International chefs for about $120 US.

The Singaporeans encompass many religious groups and go mad over every major religious festival. The lights and preparations are magnificent.

Plus you can shop 24/7 at Mutstafa's Department store, two years ago my wife was buying me more presents at 6am Christmas morning while I slept!

As most major religions are represented you have your choice of churches to attend for services if you wish to celebrate the birth of the Christ-child in the traditional way.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!

[THE JURY LADY]

I'm so exceited... I'll be going on a bingo cruise for Christmas. Santa can you make me a winner?

[monique]

my plans for christmas are about the same as most years, but different from other members of this group, I guess.

First Saint Nicolas visit my country The Netherlands (Europe) and not Santa, but I guess they are good friends.

I do celebrate christmas with my parents, sister, her husband and children and my daughter (21). Usually we come together in my parents house 10 km/6-7 miles from where I live and have dinner and play games there. Some winters it is cold enough to have frozen canals and ponds. I am not good at skating but sometimes I am going to look at it and get a taste of the joyfull atmosphere.
The last decade, most villages in the area do have there own christmasstable, most with statues, but sometimes with animals and real persons on 1st and 2nd chrismasday. They change the baby´s every hour, parents are willing to lay down on base of a timetable. The babies are up to one year old, and ofcourse they are very well attended with all the people around it and also kept warm, I have always seen something of heat.

I guess that someone of you have never heard of saint nicolas. He is the bishop of Myra, Turkye, but lives in Spain with his servants/helps the zwarte (=black) pieten. The pieten do the heavy work of carying things, climbing in the chimneys etc, and assist saint nicolaas with his visits to the children. In the past, you could get dificulties with them if you wouldn´t listen, but they do don´t do that nowadys. They all come on a steamboat somewhere in November and go back on 6 december. Saint Nicolas rides on a white horse.

However, I did get a few christmasses that you are familiar with during my stay in the UK in 1991-1993. It was however puzzling for my daughter, than 4,5 years old who was used to Saint Nicolas, but she could live with two different traditions in two different countries. She get the best things of both and enjoys it.

I hope that you like my story and if you have any questions about this, I would like to answer them.

Love and Light Monique

[Shanna]

Wow...you all will have a very special holiday.

Martin - the buffet sounds fantastic! And I can tell that you are excited about the trip. Hopefully your wife won't have to work too much and you can enjoy some time together. Safe travels, my friend.

Jury Lady - I'm blowing some lucky dust your way! And it's too late for Santa to make you a winner...you already are! Good luck...and have a great time on the cruise!

Monique - your hoilday is so cozy sounding. Thanks for explaining it - very interesting, especially the Christmastable. Not sure what we would do here if Santa arrived on a white horse..lol.


For me, it will most likely be the same as it has been for the last 5 years We always host dinner at our house. Every year I tell my husband that next year it's someone else's turn, but I cave in and do it again. I think it's because I love to cook and decorate and have my famly close.

We do a huge buffet style dinner, which includes a ham done on the outside rotisserie (which is very challenging because Michigan winters are cold) and at least one turkey as well. Sometimes I roast the turkey the old way, and sometimes we put it in the turkey fryer.

I'm very excited this year because my daughter will be old enough to enjoy the holiday. She was only 7 mos old last year so most if it was just a blur of lights and noise for her. Of course, I'm sure she will be un-trimming my tree every chance she gets!

I am going to start a few new traditions with my children this year. I want them to see past the presents. We will be donating some of their gift money to St. Judes Hospital to help the children there. Not sure where else just yet.

There is one tradition that we always do...a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake for my birthday. It's such a busy time of year that we do not get to do a lot of celebrating, so my mother in law always buys me this cake.

[Martin Quinlan]

Well Shanna it is obvious that you Love Christmas and Love your Family :)

Martin