Christmas/New Year 2007

[Davey]

Well, Santa is coming to Town... and the Champagne bottle will be pulled open for the celebration of the new year.

What are your plans?
What do you want for Christmas?
and what are your wishes for the new year?

1. I will probably celebrate Christmas and New year with my in-laws... I would love to go home, but it's a bit hard with a pregnant wife. This year I do want to introduce a Dutch Christmas and a Dutch New year style into the family... so that's going to be fun... (I'm going to try to make some Ollie bollen this year)

2. For Christmas, I would love to receive some warm greetings from family and friends... mail or text messages. A nice wii game for the family or other family game would be nice as well.

3. For the new year I want to work harder on my Japanese (something I wanted the last 3 years as well... snif snif), a good time for my wife and the new baby. Plus having more fun in Japan.

I know this thread might be a bit early for some... but I guess I had nothing to do than posting a thread such as this.

 

[Mars Man]

I have to work in the evening on that day, although the university will be out already. I would like to recieve the gift of magical powers...or if that's too big a bill...maybe twenty years time rewind...without changing what has developed externally nor neurologically.

New years day will of course be spent wondering what happened to 2007. I wish I could have a little bit more to look forward to.

 

[Nuala]

I'm planning to spend Christmas with my family. Eat a turkey, play with my little brother on his Nintendo Wii, and perhaps not feel like crap all day.

But I am not sure what I want for Christmas. I'm happy that my family can afford our own food this year. We've been very lucky these past four years. I remember getting meals from the local church and food pantry back in junior high school.

As for 2008, who knows. I want to get back into shape, focus on learning German next semester, and even before German, going to college every day. I had a bad end to high school back in Spring 2007, so I've been picking up the pieces of my life ever since.

 

[Kinsao]

I'm spending Christmas day at home with my boy - although we are saying that either of our parents is welcome to come over if they want to. And during the rest of that season, guess we will visit some friends and relatives, and just spend some time chilling out.

For Christmas I want... well, I can think of lots of things I want actually, but none of them are really repeatable to my family unfortunately. Failing the tongue vibrator or a leather hood, a lot of money would be nice... but that ain't gonna happen! lol!

For the new year... actually I am quite excited, because this time I'm going to see the fireworks in London for real! I've never done this before, and last year I so much wanted to. One of our bands is playing a gig in London on December 30 so my boy is treating me to a couple of nights in London as his xmas present to me. We will see the fireworks and probably go to a club afterwards... not decided what yet though...

As for my hopes for 2008... mainly it is for a good wedding day followed by a lifetime of happy marriage (well no one can be happy all the time of course... I mean happy with the relationship ).

 

[Pachipro]

My Plans: This year I will be spending Christmas and New Years in Japan as it has been more than a few years since we have returned home during the year-end holidays. New Years is such a wonderful time with all the great food, visits to the shrines and seeing old friends, crazy TV, etc. and I'm really looking forward to experiencing it again.

Having lived in Japan for many years, I kind of lost the true meaning of what Christmas really meant while growing up in the US and still have never really got it back despite living here for 18 years. Heck, I used to work on Christmas day in Japan! But one thing that sticks with me is what would Christmas Eve in Japan be without the traditional cake?

What do I want for Christmas?: Continued good health for me and the wife, a 50" TV (although it would probably be a waste since I will be returning to Japan permanently in a couple of years), a PS3, and peace in this crazy world of ours even though it will never happen.

My wishes for the New Year: Ditto on the peace thing and continued good health for what remains of my family, friends and Jref members. Good, intelligent conversation and debate; continued good, honest friends; at least two visits to Japan and to win at Pachinko; and of course a healthy baby for Dutch Baka and wife!

 

[Kinsao]

Oh no... everyone is wishing for worthy things for Christmas and there am I wishing for sex toys... :sorry:

 

[Nuala]

Oh no... everyone is wishing for worthy things for Christmas and there am I wishing for sex toys... :sorry:

It's alright dear, I would also ask for sex toys if I had any use for them.

 

[maushan3]

My plans: Well, I don't know about Christmas, probably with my host family or something. A cake (what's up with the Xmas cake in Japan?) gifts, I don't know. Who knows, I might get a girl in this 3-week lapse and have a romantic (read naughty)Christmas.
As for the new year, I am going on a ski trip to Nagano and then a couple of days to Shizuoka with my host mom's family.
I seriously wanna go to Tokyo with a friend, over 20, on vacations, but the exchange association is so hard to deal with, so I might just call it quits...

What I want for this new year: get crazy at Japanese, travel all over the country, and most important thing: have fun! I mean, I really like the country, it's an amazing place, but not as a Japanese high school student. School rules their lives.

Mauricio

 

[justin]

My Plans:My work is giving me about three weeks off so, I'm going to spend Christmas with my family. Do a lot of cooking, baking, and drinking. Cheers! As for New Year's Eve, well the keg will be my best friend.

What I want for this new years: For my family, friends, and everyone on Jref to know nothing but joy.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Plans: I have no plans as of now for Christmas, although I'll welcome in the new year in none other than Seoul, Korea, as I will be visiting a friend. I'll be there for a few days before coming back home to join in the usual rat race again.

Christmas: I don't want anything. I think that if anything, Christmas should not be about "getting", but rather "giving".

New Year: I'll tell you when I decide!

 

[epigene]

My plans: I'm having more than average share of "bonen-kais" (forget-the-going-year parties) and have to schedule work around these parties!!

What I want for Christmas: A replay for Christmas past with the kids.
Christmas will probably be another ordinary day, which has become the norm since the kids left home for college, except from some concerts to which I've been invited. But, I'm reproducing the atmosphere by playing my collection of Christmas music!

What I want for the New Year: Some well-deserved rest for my husband and myself and keeping fit and in good health for another year.
New Year is the time we visit my husband's family in Odakyu-Sagamihara (now popularly known as Oda-Saga). We might be passing each other somewhere, Pachipro!

 

[ifjames]

What do you do for Christmas???

Thought I'd start:
Christmas starts for my family by watching the traditional "Carols by Candlelight" performance on TV on Christmas Eve, from 9pm to 11.30pm
On Christmas morning we go to family for a HUGE brunch (champagne, croissants,toast and vegemite [sorry!])
Then despite Aussie heat and attempts to be Republicanly independent, we still do the traditional main meal of good ole British Roast Turkey, Ham, roast veges, Plum Pudding with brandy everything etc, interspersed with swims in our pool; I'm waiting for the day when I can persuade my family to do the "prawns on the barbie" thing for Christmas.
That night we collapse, overfed and exhausted, but very happy to have spent time with family.
What do others who celebrate this occasion get up to in other countries?

 

[Janny]

I'm not really a church person so I'll be staying at home for the holidays. We don't really have many traditional meals planned, but there is a special cake that is traditional in my country. It's basically sponge cake filled with cocoa and nuts, mmm... As long as I have my PC along with video games, family around and some food I'm as happy as a newborn kitty ^_^

 

[Davey]

We are planing to order a chicken at the meat store, and put some stuff in it... I have no idea how to do that so if anyone knows a nice recipe please pm me.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

Same old, same old here

 

[Kinsao]

Well, my partner's mum wants to come over for Christmas day, but his stepdad doesn't. So if his feelings on that continue, we won't be seeing them on Christmas day. (We get on with each other perfectly well, he is a really nice guy, but he wants to be in his home on Christmas day, which is fair enough, but a bit sad for the boy's mum who wants to see him...) My mum will come over to us. I will probably go to midnight Mass, and we will sleep in on the morning , and have Xmas dinner in the middle of the afternoon, a bit lateish, for which my mum is invited, and the evening to ourselves also.

I've bought my boy a tom tom for Xmas (the sat nav device, not the drum... XD) and my mum I am going to get a breadmaker, as well as a new kettle which she needs. Aunts and uncles will probably get food! Our stay in London over new year is my boy's Xmas present to me (he is paying for the hotel) - I know he would like to get me the engagement ring also, but doubtful that he will be able to complete payment before Xmas. I have no clue what my mum is getting me!

 

[Haruspex]

Im planning to push my parents to the brink of bankruptcy. Decided that I need Evangelion Platinum Pack and EoE directors cut version. Also I pretty much ordered everything that came up when I searched for Japanese Language on Amazon, so this one will be quite a a laid back Christmas, thanks to uni. entry exams this year I don't have the luxury to spend a single day with my mates... well tough luck.

Dutch Baka, what kind of chicken do you imagine? I mean, what about stuffing it with some pickled fruits? If you like contrasts that is, or perhaps spinach

 

[Goldiegirl]

For Christmas, I wish I had a family that wasn't so dysfunctional; that we could all go back to the times when Christmas was happy and we all got along. For New Years, I wish I could let go of all that burdens my mind.........................

 

[Void]

1) -
2) -
3) perhaps, more vigour

Happy new year, everyone

 

[hideway]

1. Spend it with my family as usual.
2. Read above.
3.
- Get that gym membership and stop being a lazy fat ***.
- Finally finish my graduation.
- Learn more Japanese.
- Make a week trip to Japan.
- Mostly fun.

Glad to see so many known faces around.

 

[Homerduff]

2007 has been a wonderfull year for me. Not only graduating from high school has been a great turn-point in my life but also lots of other stuff that I'm going to keep for myself hehe.

What I want to achieve in 2008:

- Pass my year in college (but not overstudy myself hehe).
- Try to get my Japanese host brother come over this summer and do some touring in Europe.
- Earn enough money for next year (got some major plans).