Happy Boxing Day! I had a lovely holiday and I kept thinking I would have time to sit down and write the posts that were in my head, and then I didn’t. What I really enjoyed was seeing that all of you still came around to DCIB to check in and chat without me!
Oh my, I haven’t posted since Wednesday! Oh that’s right, on Thursday I did some last minute shopping and then watched Star Trek with the upstairs people. On Friday I ended up doing a last minute job interview for a potential new employee at my office, she was very nice, and that kind of ate up all my time before my parents arrived. They arrived, we got settled, then Mom and I walked the dog while Dad had a little nap. Then started making our festive dinner (my Mom molds meatloaf into a festive shape, this year a star!), and the Upstairs People came down to have Christmas Eve dinner with us, complete with charades, which was delightful.
Christmas Day, Dad was up first for once, and then I was up, and then finally Mom, and we had coffee and chocolate and opened presents for a bit. Took a break to walk the dog, and then went upstairs where the Upstairs People gave us an amazing breakfast. Back down, finished opening presents, and then our festive Christmas naps. Then a very VERY long walk which failed to tire out Albie Dog, back home for a relaxed evening of leftovers, playing Sorry, and then to bed. And then this morning I woke up to find my parents had already packed themselves up and stripped their beds and were ready to go out the door. Holiday Over!!!!
Anyway, it was lovely. I got some nice presents, Albie Dog got a big Kong, my parents liked their weird internet enabled photoframe thing I gave them, the Upstairs People liked the cat toys I got them, so it’s all good! And now Albie Dog and I are sitting on the couch together watching The Great British Baking Show. And enjoying the DELIGHTFUL Vicky and Kat Christmas photo.
dontcallitbollywood 
Wonderful to hear that your Christmas went well!
Our family had the usual preparations for eating with the grandparents. Then the visit to my uncle’s to meet cousins, which was wonderful. The usual present opening got three academic books as presents (2 of which were on Indian cinema). Have been eating ham for the last 3 days and I’m sick of it. Thankfully New Year is obligatory sushi time to balance the heavy eating at Christmas.
I am just going to repeat what I said in the comment before. Watched ‘Atrangi Re’ on einthusan and FELL IN LOVE WITH IT!! Watched it 3 times in one day and planning on watching it so many times afterwards. Dhanush is so wonderful, I love him and so is Sara, Akshay makes sense in the context of the film, though he looks a little plastic-y. A wonderful DCIB movie as you kinda ignore some of the silly logistical stuff said and concentrate on the love story.
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Oooo, what academic books on Indian film?
And you’ve convinced me! I will watch Atrangi Re! Despite not liking akshay, or movies by Aanand L Rai!
On Sun, Dec 26, 2021 at 10:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hey! I was in the same boat with you when it comes to Aanand L. Rai and Akshay! Yet this film has somehow ended up on my ultimate favourite movie on both of their filmography!!
And I got ‘Bollywood Sounds: the cosmopolitan meditations of Hindi film songs’ by Jayson Beaster-Jones and ‘Masala Shakespeare: How a Firangi writer became Indian’ by Jonathan Gil Harris. Great books! I
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Fabulous! You can be our music person! Because I stink at that.
On Sun, Dec 26, 2021 at 10:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Nice! The music is how I got into Indian films in the first place. Nowadays it’s so rare for me to even listen to contemporary English language songs. The music in other languages or from other countries is just much more interesting in terms of rhythm and lyrics.
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I must watch Atrangi Re because I read the reviews so different I’m curious how it really is. Some people hate it, some adore it, let’s see in which group I will be.
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Kirre- Thanks for this posting this!! You can convinced me to watch Atrangi Re! I’ll let you know what I think once I finish it.
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Yay! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts. 🙂
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Thanks for the narrations *smile* …
Christmas for me is everything about the kids…the big and the small ones. We have a certain routine where we do almost everything together: fetching 2 trees in the woods with the forest ranger (some days before Christmas Eve), the day of Christmas Eve, the trees are decorated after a late breakfast and the kids unwrap the nicely carved crib figurines (Mary, Joseph, Jesus baby, 3 shepherds with sheeps, an ox and a donkey, the 3 kings, some angels playing instruments) which they arrange under a big root we once found in the woods (the one who gets the baby in the crib beams with joy *chuckle*).
In the afternoon, we prepare dinner (being aids to our cook = my daughter). After dinner, one of the grown-ups goes upstairs to check, if Father Christmas has already brought the presents (we eat downstairs where there is the open kitchen, a looong table, a home office and a big space for our guinea pigs…and during this time of the year the smaller one of the two trees). We wait for the lovely sound of the bell that makes the little ones rush upstairs to enjoy the sight of the packed presents under the alit big tree. Everybody takes a seat listening to the music in the background and just takes in the atmosphere. Then I read a Christmas story chosen out of a book with m a n y stories (mostly those where kids are involved)…and then…well…present time and playing/chatting !!!
There is no “routine” on both the Christmas days (25th and 26th)…it depends … other members of the family may come for a visit or we do visits…there could be a Christmas play at the church we would go to see…it could be a lazy day with a Christmas movie and table plays…the kids may play with each other with what they got…we may enjoy long walks if the weather suits us (or build snowmen if there only would be snow!!!)…and we would eat left-overs from the great dinner.
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When my grandparents were little, their parents still did a magical Christmas Eve tree decoration. But by the time my parents were young it was just TOO MUCH to do everything in one day instead of stretching it out. I am very impressed that you do the tree and everything on the same day you have to finish preparing the presents and everything else!
On Sun, Dec 26, 2021 at 12:20 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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It’s rather easy-going as the presents are already wrapped the day before (where also the houshold chores are done)…and it’s mainly for the kids … we grown-ups just help with the decorating and later, the kids help preparing the dinner. So, both are the only “tasks” beside one
of the grown-ups arranging the presents under the tree.
Sometimes, the kids prepare a little play they present or someone plays the piano or the guitar, but that doesn’t belong to the “routine”).
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It’s nice how we have our traditions but they’re not so rigid and locked in as to create stress.
This year I was surprisingly organised and took myself to the cinema to see Dune on Christmas Eve. Loved the film and felt wonderfully self indulgent.
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