The 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th was the beginning and the end of a wonderful Swedish "family" Christmas. The 22nd I went to lunch with Maria (Massage therapist from last season) and Muck (last season setter). Muck and I decided to do a little shopping after lunch and then head to the new arena they had built for a couple different sports, the main one being volleyball. At first sight, it was a bigger, higher ceiling gym with stadium style seating. I was excited to be practicing in it the following week. To Hestra (Sara's home town) I go with no time to spare getting to the train station. A quick ride to Bastad, where we were picked up by her sister Johanna and her boyfriend Christian. Along for the ride as well was the best dog probably in the world, Mogly. Once we got to her parents house, I could see the happiness and smiles on everyones faces to see me again, what a great feeling. Warm hugs were given all around and then we headed upstairs for dinner, taco's! I love the decorations in their home, very clean and not over the top. I feel like I am in Martha Stewarts house during Christmas because Sara has told me that her mom makes most of the decorations she has around the house. Love it!
The 23rd, we headed to Sara's dad's parents house about 5 miles away. They have a cute 2 story old Swedish style yellow house situated on farm land. When we walked inside we were instantly greeted by grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc (around 25 people). Everyone seemed to have remembered me which was really nice and very welcoming. Sara's grandmother is hilarious because she has from the beginning spoken Swedish to me. This time it was a lot more and so I was hoping someone around me would help translate. I could understand bits and pieces but she is a fast talker with a slightly different accent then I'm used to. The Pettersson family and I sat around in the living room and chatted until the food was ready and everyone had arrived. The food was the same as last year, no surprises there, with the staple items including salmon, herring and potato's (my favorite), ham, spicy mustard, macaroni salad, swedish meatballs (her grandma makes the best I have ever eaten), and shrimp. They also have this type of soft thick ginger bread that is only made during that time of year, very very good with butter. This year I decided to have only one shot of shnapps and let me tell you it was a big one and to add it burned for about 5 minutes afterward. So I was done after one, you can call me weak sauce or whatever, vodka does not do the body good anymore...or ever has. Thank you Philip for peer pressuring me into doing that, love you brother! Sara's grandpa however was on a roll and probably had up to around 10 schnapps which left his nose bright red. After dinner, the Swedish Santa (Tomten) came to hand out presents to everyone. Once that was over we headed back into the dinning room to conclude with the 50 kronor gift exchange, kind of a "white elephant" gift exchange. I got a red candy bowl, Sara got some water glasses, her sisters boyfriend got the funniest gift of all. It was a wine opener in the shape of a man with a mustache, a lepoard print speedo, and white tennis shoes. The cork screw was located where his.....well you get the point, plus I will add a picture for clarification. Super classy to say the least. We ended the night with coffee and cake an every day tradition in Sweden no matter what the occasion may be. I said my goodbyes to the family thanking them immensely, I had the best time this year, especially since I knew most of them, it was a lot easier to interact this year. Hope to see them all again in the future, they always make me feel so welcome in their home.
The 23rd, we headed to Sara's dad's parents house about 5 miles away. They have a cute 2 story old Swedish style yellow house situated on farm land. When we walked inside we were instantly greeted by grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc (around 25 people). Everyone seemed to have remembered me which was really nice and very welcoming. Sara's grandmother is hilarious because she has from the beginning spoken Swedish to me. This time it was a lot more and so I was hoping someone around me would help translate. I could understand bits and pieces but she is a fast talker with a slightly different accent then I'm used to. The Pettersson family and I sat around in the living room and chatted until the food was ready and everyone had arrived. The food was the same as last year, no surprises there, with the staple items including salmon, herring and potato's (my favorite), ham, spicy mustard, macaroni salad, swedish meatballs (her grandma makes the best I have ever eaten), and shrimp. They also have this type of soft thick ginger bread that is only made during that time of year, very very good with butter. This year I decided to have only one shot of shnapps and let me tell you it was a big one and to add it burned for about 5 minutes afterward. So I was done after one, you can call me weak sauce or whatever, vodka does not do the body good anymore...or ever has. Thank you Philip for peer pressuring me into doing that, love you brother! Sara's grandpa however was on a roll and probably had up to around 10 schnapps which left his nose bright red. After dinner, the Swedish Santa (Tomten) came to hand out presents to everyone. Once that was over we headed back into the dinning room to conclude with the 50 kronor gift exchange, kind of a "white elephant" gift exchange. I got a red candy bowl, Sara got some water glasses, her sisters boyfriend got the funniest gift of all. It was a wine opener in the shape of a man with a mustache, a lepoard print speedo, and white tennis shoes. The cork screw was located where his.....well you get the point, plus I will add a picture for clarification. Super classy to say the least. We ended the night with coffee and cake an every day tradition in Sweden no matter what the occasion may be. I said my goodbyes to the family thanking them immensely, I had the best time this year, especially since I knew most of them, it was a lot easier to interact this year. Hope to see them all again in the future, they always make me feel so welcome in their home.
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