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2020 was one rough year for everyone. Between the deaths of many celebrities, a massive pandemic (and everything that goes along with that), the Australian bush fires, and many more depressing events, we can pretty much guarantee a holiday season that is anything but normal. So here's a breakdown of my COVID-mas plans and some random news from December, because why not?
So this year, our plans changed drastically (whose didn't?). We had planned on returning to the U.S. for Christmas in order to spend time with some family in Arizona and meet some friends from California, however, after watching the situation in the States gradually get worse, we had no choice but to cancel our trip. It's difficult not being able to go home for so long, especially when family members are sick and we haven't seen friends and family for over a year, but we had to be responsible. It was also kind of depressing that Strasbourg, the Christmas capital, was canceling the Christmas markets this year. In order to salvage some Christmas cheer, we began Christmas decorations quite early (for me it was like right after Thanksgiving) and made some alternative plans.
One cool thing we were able to experience this year was driving into the mountains to cut down our own Christmas tree from a Christmas tree farm. Coming from California, land of the plastic Christmas trees, it was a pretty cool thing to be able to experience, the views were amazing, and we got to drink hot cocoa and eat some cookies afterwards.
Soon, our apartment was covered in pine needles, nutcrackers, Christmas lights, and the smell of my yummy apple-scented candle. Since we were not longer traveling to the U.S., my parents still wanted to go somewhere, even if it was only a mini-vacation. After talking with some friends, they decided to take a little three-day trip to a cabin in the Vosges (a mountain range about an hour from Strasbourg). We packed up our tiny car, dog and all, and drove the hour to a cute cabin (complete with a jacuzzi!) with some friends. We dropped my brother off for some skiing lessons before arriving and unpacking. My friend and I went in the hot tub at night and it was so pretty with the lights. We took some pictures and chilled for a bit before heading to our indoor sauna (!) and then finally showering and heading to bed. It was a pretty nice little escape. In the cabin, we baked cookies, played board games, and generally just enjoyed our little escape from COVID (I haven't worn a mask in two days!).
As for our plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they're definitely a little different this year. In my family, on Christmas Eve, it's a tradition to eat my grandma's lasagna and then open all presents from family and friends the night before. Then, on Christmas morning, we open presents from Santa. However, in France, there is currently an 8pm curfew in our area and the Minister has agreed to lift the curfew for one night and one night only, which just so happens to be Christmas Eve. Not New Years, not Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve. So, we were invited to a Christmas party on Christmas Eve at my brother's friend's house. This is the first time since I can remember when we will not be following tradition on Christmas Eve. At first, I was a little upset (I'm quite a stickler for tradition) but I realized that 2020 is an unusual year, and it's no small wonder that Christmas Eve didn't go as planned either. As for Christmas, we plan on having our lasagna/presents dinner tradition on Christmas Day instead.
How has COVID changed your holiday plans?
In Other News...
Here's some recent celebrity news and world news because some interesting things have happened this week and I figured it would be cool to recap on it for some reason (maybe I've run out of content ideas haha).
Ariana Grande:
Fans of Ariana Grande everywhere are going wild after Ariana announced her engagement to quarantine boyfriend Dalton Gomez, a luxury real estate agent. This is her second engagement, so here's hoping this one works out!
Ed Sheeran:
Since he's my favorite artist, I had to include the release of his newest song, Afterglow, which is amazing, as are all of his songs. This is his first new release since the birth of his daughter, Lyra Antarctica a few months ago.
Also, this makes me want to comment on the fact that artists have seriously been copying each other's song titles lately. For example, Taylor Swift's newest album, evermore, has a track on it titled champagne problems, which is also the name of one of Katy Perry's recent songs. Taylor Swift also has a track on her album Lover titled Afterglow so maybe it's just a coincidence or artists are running out of ideas.
Taylor Swift:
A conspiracy about Taylor Swift's wellbeing has popped up on the internet recently after her interview with Jimmy Kimmel about her newest album, evermore. In the video, her eyes are quite red, as if she's been crying, and during a section of the interview where she is talking about code names, she makes what looks like the hand signal for domestic abuse. It could just be a pure coincidence, but some fans are worried Taylor might be in trouble. What do you think? Here's the video if you're interested:
Joe Biden:
Joe Biden received the first dose of the COVID vaccine on live television yesterday.
WandaVision: Some new variations of WandaVision trailers have been released, so if you're interested here they are:
So far there's been no significant new clues as far as I can gather, but I'll give an update if anything comes up.
Anyway guys, I hope you enjoyed this random Christmas/COVID/news post and let me know if you have any post ideas or comments at the bottom of the blog page. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Loreleixx
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