Travel Stories | Expat Life
Just here to say that I haven’t been very interested in blogging lately. Does it ever feel somewhat stressful to anyone else? The next big adventure to document is Fraser Island. There’s just so much to say that I can’t bring myself to say anything at all.
Maybe next week.
xo, jill
Mike and I had a wonderful Christmas down here in Australia. We are both incredibly grateful to be house sitting over the holidays. It definitely beats sleeping in our tent!
We anticipated lounging by the pool in the sun for Christmas. Unfortunately, a thunder storm arrived on Christmas Eve and prevented that fantasy from happening. Instead, we had a relaxing rainy day indoors. It felt much more like home with gray outside the windows.
Christmas Eve
We headed out to the shops to pick up groceries for our Christmas meal. Just as I expected, it was insane! We spent the afternoon listening to Christmas music and wrapping up our gifts. I found a Santa section in the newspaper and chuckled while I made sure at least one Santa was on each on Mike’s packages.
In the evening we spent a few hours preparing a delicious Christmas meal. It was quite the spread and will be feeding us for a few days. We prepared an avocado and beet salad, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, roasted pumpkin, and a chicken for Mike.
After dinner we posed for a few photos by the Christmas tree and curled up on the couch.
Christmas Day
In the morning we exchanged gifts on the floor under the tree. We agreed to a $10 budget this year so we had to be creative. One of my gifts to Mike was a pack of Skittles comprised of only his favorite color: red. I was so excited for him to open it. We also opened a package sent by my parents. Now I have plenty of books to read and vegan marshmallows to eat. Mike has his very own Powell’s t-shirt and enough ginger candy to keep him satisfied. Thank you Mom, Dad, and Toni!
After gifts we cooked up a special breakfast, drank some tea, took a few photos, and cracked our Christmas crackers.
The rain continued to pour the rest of the day so we continued the indoor relaxing.
It was a very pleasant Christmas, but Mike and I both agreed that no matter how hard you try to create a holiday atmosphere with lights, gifts, and good food… it’s friends and family that really make it feel like Christmas.
I hope everyone’s holiday was merry and bright!
xo, jill
Mike and I had a wonderful Christmas down here in Australia. We are both incredibly grateful to be house sitting over the holidays. It definitely beats sleeping in our tent!
We anticipated lounging by the pool in the sun for Christmas. Unfortunately, a thunder storm arrived on Christmas Eve and prevented that fantasy from happening. Instead, we had a relaxing rainy day indoors. It felt much more like home with gray outside the windows.
Christmas Eve
We headed out to the shops to pick up groceries for our Christmas meal. Just as I expected, it was insane! We spent the afternoon listening to Christmas music and wrapping up our gifts. I found a Santa section in the newspaper and chuckled while I made sure at least one Santa was on each on Mike’s packages.
In the evening we spent a few hours preparing a delicious Christmas meal. It was quite the spread and will be feeding us for a few days. We prepared an avocado and beet salad, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, roasted pumpkin, and a chicken for Mike.
After dinner we posed for a few photos by the Christmas tree and curled up on the couch.
Christmas Day
In the morning we exchanged gifts on the floor under the tree. We agreed to a $10 budget this year so we had to be creative. One of my gifts to Mike was a pack of Skittles comprised of only his favorite color: red. I was so excited for him to open it. We also opened a package sent by my parents. Now I have plenty of books to read and vegan marshmallows to eat. Mike has his very own Powell’s t-shirt and enough ginger candy to keep him satisfied. Thank you Mom, Dad, and Toni!
After gifts we cooked up a special breakfast, drank some tea, took a few photos, and cracked our Christmas crackers.
The rain continued to pour the rest of the day so we continued the indoor relaxing.
It was a very pleasant Christmas, but Mike and I both agreed that no matter how hard you try to create a holiday atmosphere with lights, gifts, and good food… it’s friends and family that really make it feel like Christmas.
I hope everyone’s holiday was merry and bright!
xo, jill
This year it was quite the challenge for Molly and me to prepare our annual Christmas video. How do you make a video together when you’re stuck on different continents?! Luckily, we had enough foresight last year that we made a little extra holiday footage for future use. At least that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it!
Here’s our fourth annual Christmas greeting:
Merry Christmas!
xo, jill
(Special thanks to Molly for taking on the role of Milk Drinker.)
Previous greetings:
2011 – Super speed at the mall
2010 – 12 days of Christmas Abu Dhabi style stop motion
2009 – Christmas in the Mid East
Do gift guides drive you nuts? They are all over the place this time of year and most of them are just not practical. Sometimes they remind me of watching an Oprah’s Favorite Things episode several years ago. Oprah pulled out an item she loved and said something like, “And it’s only $50 so it’s a great gift for your mail carrier! I loooooove it!” Personally, I don’t have that kind of money. (I hope I’m not alone on this or I owe several apologies to my local postal workers).
I’ve seen a few gift guides this year tailored to “the traveler.” I’m not going to lie and say the items weren’t cool… but personally, I don’t really want to be weighed down when I travel with more “stuff.” There are so many blog posts and articles out there about packing light that I don’t think I’m alone on this.
It got me thinking about the kind of gifts I like to give and receive, and what other travelers might like as well.
How about something that makes you feel good, helps others, and won’t add kilos to your pack?
So here’s my Christmas Gift Guide for Travelers and Other Interested People
1. Make a donation (or reserve a baby blanket) to Haiti Babi.
Haiti Babi is an organization that seeks to keep families together by providing jobs for women. In Haiti, many children are in orphanages because their parents simply cannot afford their care. Haiti Babi provides women with the opportunity to learn a skill, produce a product, and make a living. The women knit and crochet high quality and stylish baby blankets for sale in the US. The organization recently held a very successful fundraiser and is getting ready to make an even bigger impact. As Katlin (founder of Haiti Babi) says, “Every mom should have the opportunity to care for her child.”
Full disclosure: The founder is a friend of mine from childhood and I am immensely proud of her. I worked with her on a project earlier this year to help promote Haiti Babi’s cause and Indiegogo fundraiser.
2. Make a donation to Iqra Fund.
A friend of Molly’s was traveling in Pakistan recently when she randomly met Genevieve Chabot. Genevieve and her husband founded a non-profit in Pakistan, Iqra Fund, aimed at serving and educating women and girls in remote regions. Iqra Fund’s goal is huge, but Genevieve and her team have the know-how and skills to make a big impact on the local communities. Please read more about Iqra Fund here because their mission and programs are too complex to discuss here.
After two years of lending with Kiva, I’m still hooked. If you haven’t heard yet, Kiva is an organization that makes it easy to lend small amounts of money to entrepreneurs all over the world. Once your loan is repaid, you can lend again…and again…and again.
So there you have it. A Christmas Gift Guide minus the “stuff.”
Another bonus is that donations can always be made last minute. So if you find yourself scrambling on Christmas Eve…
xo, jill
