It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

Well, sort of. A couple of days before Thanksgiving I pulled out the Christmas decorations and filled our house with a little of the holiday spirit. But I can't say there is much of that going around town.

Christmas in Jakarta is definitely lacking. While Christmas Day is a national holiday, it doesn't seem there is much celebrating going around. You will find some stores and the mall with some Christmas decorations but nothing nearly to the extent of what we are used to. Aside from the big tree at the front of our complex, you don't see much in the way of Christmas decorations when you are driving around town. I miss seeing the houses adorned with Christmas lights, people wearing corny Christmas shirts and shopping strips all spruced up with greenery and lighting. And believe it or not, I miss shopping in the holiday rush, bumping elbows with others who are searching for that perfect gift.

Today at the mall, I actually heard Christmas music playing in one of the stores. I couldn't help but sing along. I really need to get out my Christmas CDs. Although I don't have many. Looks like I might be visiting iTunes soon.


So despite the 90 degree weather and the lack of holiday atmosphere, there has been one bright spot, literally...our Christmas tree. The boys were so exited to help me put up the tree and decorate it. It was nice to have some enthusiastic helpers for once. Justin has grown weary of the tree trimming tradition and was more than happy to watch Jack while the triplets and I did the tree. And even though we have some randomly blinking lights ( I guess we should have checked the lights before we left the store...only in Indonesia), I think our tree is just great!