We have started the holiday season off with a bang here! Unlike last year, we had turkey this year for Thanksgiving, but there was no large party to go to, so we hosted a small one at our home for friends and some of the single men who have moved here without their families. We wanted to give them a little taste of home here in Yanbu too.
It was fun - but WOW! Two very good friends helped me with all the cooking (three days worth), but we pulled it off and I don't think that we missed much in the way of dishes! It was also fun because we invited some of Chuck's co-workers from India who had never celebrated Thanksgiving before. I had to break out Wilkipedia to try and explain the whole Thanksgiving tradition beyond the Pilgrims and Native American lingo. They brought their traditional meals and we just enjoyed and ate, and ate… and ate.
We actually found pecans here too - this was big as it's honestly the first time I've seen them here. We roasted a pumpkin - no canned pumpkin in Yanbu - just fresh - and made pies and cookies, along with chocolate chess pie and of course my hubby's favorite coconut pie. We had turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole (I had to make the fried onions homemade - not here either), potato salad, potatoes with cheese, corn casserole, rice, fresh bread and rolls and even some cranberry sauce another expat left! YUM!
For our Holiday celebration we've also been busy! We decorated the house, put up our small tree (also left by another expat family) and broke out some homemade decorations from the Santa advent calendar to the wreath on the door. You have to get crafty here to feel the holiday spirit!
After the holiday party, Santa made a special stop at our house to make an early delivery. We're going to be out of the country for Christmas, but Santa all Abby had asked for was a trampoline. Since we're going to be gone for a bit, I wanted to make sure she had time to play with her new toy. So mommy and daddy made an arrangement for Santa to stop by the house a little early to deliver some special gifts for Miss Abby in Yanbu. It did not disappoint, however, the assembly was a bit of a challenge since the trampoline ended up being in about 100 pieces and the instructions were in Arabic!
The ladies also got together to wish everyone a happy holiday season as many of us are escaping on vacations over Christmas and New Years. We've had coffee mornings and get togethers, and just recently the WACC sponsored a morning breakfast for the ladies at the Movenpick - We even had a private room where we shed our abayas! Since the room was closed in, we were even able to get some shots of us all in western clothes with the city skyline in the background! Scandalous!
We leave this week for a vacation to Edinburgh and London where my step son and his fiancé are going to spend Christmas and New Years with us. Then Miss Abby and I are headed to the states for 3 weeks (since she's out of school) to visit family. Abby will get to have her birthday in the states this year, so no crazy Yanbu party with 60 kids. I learned my lesson last year! I'm not sure how much posting I'll be doing over the holidays with travels and visits so I'll just wish everyone:
Happy Holidays and here's to a New Year filled with Luck, Love and Adventures!