DIY: Quick and simple Advent wreath

Thanksgiving is past, Christmas is coming up! I already got my Christmas decorations out on Wednesday, yesterday my friend and I made the first Christmas cookies, and I am looking forward very much to the next weeks. Iโ€™ll be in New York City to see the giant Rockefeller Christmas Tree, there is going to be a small Christmas market at work, I hope to go ice skating on at least one of the outside rinks in Boston, Iโ€™ll have eggnog and stollen, I have a ticket to see the Nutcracker ballet performance, Iโ€™ll go to Las Vegas just before Christmas and will be back to celebrate the holidays with my friends. Christmas time to me is when all the magic happens.

janavar-christmas-2016-advent-wreath-1

The number of my Christmas decorations slowly increases. Since it worked so well last year [here], I also wanted to create my own Advent wreath this year. When I was at Ikea in October, I already got candles, a plate and small Christmas bulbs. Last year I rather preferred red and silver, but this year it is definitely red and gold. Of course it is very easy to put four candles on a plate and arrange bulbs around them, but I like the result. Also I am very proud that Canavar hasnโ€™t stolen one of the little balls yet. He usually loves everything rolling because he can push it and then chase it through the apartment.

janavar-christmas-2016-advent-wreath-4

Tomorrow morning I am going to light the first candle, and Iโ€™ll finally open the first package of gingerbread. I think I have been very patient this year, considering that Iโ€™ve had all the yummie Christmas sweets at home for several weeks โ€“ but so far I havenโ€™t eaten any. Well, I have already tried the eggnog though. And my friendโ€™s husband, who is a confectioner, made stollen yesterday morning so we had it for breakfast. With marzipan. I love marzipan. Even though these arenโ€™t as good as the stollen yesterday, I might still make my own stollen cubes again [here is the recipe โ€“ in German only though].

janavar-christmas-2016-advent-wreath-5

I only realized this week that Christmas doesnโ€™t mean anything to many people in the world. Of course I knew that, being Muslim, most people in Turkey donโ€™t celebrate Christmas, but many still put up the decorations and exchange gifts on New Yearโ€™s Eve. But my Chinese roommate reacted surprised at all my decorations (which are actually not that many) and thatโ€™s how I learned that the majority of Chinese people doesnโ€™t celebrate Christmas at all, and also they donโ€™t seem to know much about it. Also our New Yearโ€™s Eve apparently isnโ€™t as important as the Chinese New Year. And thatโ€™s how I got a very interesting cultural lesson.

janavar-christmas-2016-advent-wreath-3

I still havenโ€™t told her though that I really want a Christmas tree. This year Iโ€™ll buy it in the city because cutting a Christmas tree is expensive and takes quite some time as I learned last year [here]. I think my roommate will be okay with a tree because it wonโ€™t take up too much space and she will be gone from mid-December until the start of January. But Canavar and I love our Christmas trees. I do because to me they are the highlight of all decorations, and Canavar because there are so many bulbs to play with and a real tree is per se a very exciting thing.

janavar-christmas-2016-cat-canavar-6

This is only the start of this yearโ€™s Christmas time, and I have a feeling that there are wonderful five weeks ahead of us, full of magic, lights and sweets. My ugly Christmas sweaters are ready, the apartment is decorated and I canโ€™t wait for all the fun to start.

I wish you a great first weekend in Advent!

ยฉ janavar

Sharing is caring!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.