The kids at Christmas, 2009
As always, we had a great Christmas here in Nagano, with the house decorated, presents from Santa, and lots of friends and family over for dinner!
Because of a bout with the flu back in November, we decided then to cancel our annual Thanksgiving dinner and saved the turkey for Christmas instead. But here, the 25th is not a holiday. Fortunately for us, the 23rd is. It is the current emperor’s birthday and made for a convenient time to invite friends and family over for a nice turkey dinner.
It was our first dinner party where we actually had a nice table to eat at, having done previous parties Japanese style on low tables with everyone sitting on the floor. This year, we had a table and chairs delivered on the 21st, just in the nick of time for the party on the 23rd.
Christmas Dinner, 2009
Everyone who came over brought some food, making the evening a sort of fancy pot luck, and our good friends Udo and Tomiko even brought a present for the kids. Thanks, guys!
Next came Christmas day itself, and all three of the kids had a ball opening presents, though Noah didn’t quite get the idea of it right away. Anri and Sara both got Licca dolls (sort of the Barbie of Japan) and a playhouse to go with them. They also got beads, playdo, and lots of books. Anri got The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (so Daddy can read it to her), and Sara got Harold and the Purple Crayon. Noah got a Tonka tow truck, a bulldozer, some Thomas trains and a lightning McQueen car, among other stuff. He loves anything that moves!
The kids playing in the snow
And the best thing of all this Christmas, aside from having everyone safe at home, was that we actually had a White Christmas this year!
Photos of Christmas in Nagano can be seen in our photo album page.
Anri and Sara had a great time playing with Grandma, Grampie Bob and Duffy (although Duffy’s antics occasionally freaked out Anri!) The kids also loved playing with their cousins. It was our first time seeing Nicholas and Matthew, and we were very happy to finally meet them. Anri had a blast with her cousin Emily. The two were inseparable during their time together and Anri’s English ability was noticeably improving by the hour. Isaac was great to see too, and I sat there marvelling at just how much he looks like his Daddy. During our stay, we did a ton of shopping for supplies we can’t readily get in Japan. We went to the States with two suitcases and returned just within the baggage limit with 6. Anri had her first experience skating and took a ski lesson for the first time. We all had a great time and now that we’re back, we’ve been busy unpacking and getting back into our usual routine. We have over four-hundred photos from our trip, whcih can be viewed 
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