Scavenging Christmas.

Christmas came and left way too quickly if you ask me. The weeks leading up to Christmas have been crazy. Finishing up my semester at school, running my half-marathon and working overtime. Somehow though, I made it through long working-Sundays and crazy customers, through endless hours of analyzing films and writing home-exams and through ice-cold long hours running outside. That’s my life and I love it, even when it gets uber busy.

So you can see that I was looking forward to a few days off to relax and celebrate together with A. So when Christmas Eve-day came along, I was uber excited. Somehow all the presents made it under our lovely tree that this year didn’t smell like a dog relieved himself all over it. Since we decided to celebrate together in Oslo we figured, it didn’t really matter when we opened our presents. We were aiming for early Christmas day but somehow we didn’t get further than Christmas-Eve-morning. So A opened one, two, three, four…..five presents. Drooling over his new hat, super warm mittens, Brandy-glasses and feet warmers. He was indeed uber cozy. We then opened up all the presents for our hamster. And yes, we got our hamster some treats. He after all is substantial to our little family and therefore needs to have some presents as well, right?

And then it was my turn. At least so I thought… Only that there weren’t any presents to be opened anymore. There was nothing. Not a single presents, no package, no little box, no nothing. Only A sitting and sipping on his cup of tea while wearing his new hat. And then I saw a little white envelope. I turned it around and tried to make sense of it, but, being a child on the inside, I couldn’t and ripped it open. Inside was a card, it read:

My dearest J, It’s hard to imagine everything that has happened since last Christmas. I was so happy getting to share our first Christmas together, but it seems like this year has made this day even more special. Getting to share Christmas with you is wonderful, but it’s the 364.25 other days with you that make this day so amazing. I know it’s cliche to say it, but your smile really is the greatest gift to me. I love you with all my heart, and I love all the traditions we’ve made. Whether it’s our annual list of achievements and goals or our epic TV and movie marathons, they’ve redefined what Christmas means to me. Having these rituals is my favorite part of spending Christmas with you. I love you and Merry Christmas (God Jul), xoxo A.

And although these words were heartwarming and made me tear up, the last part of the card also rekindled a fire in me. In the card itself was a smaller card taped in, it read:

On this Christmas you’ll find a new theme
Where your gifts are concealed and unseen
and to find them you will
start with the window sill
Find the orchid and look underneath.

Sooooo… Was I supposed to look for my presents now?! The first thing to do: Check out our orchid and after about 25 minutes I finally found my present. It was a tiny marble two-colored elephant from London’s National History Museum. A and I have been joking how if I were an animal, I would be an elephant, because of my stubbornness and my inability to forget what I was supposed to forget. And attached to it, the following message:

Now the second is harder it’s said
So to find it you must use your head
It is really quite neat
When our guests come to sleep
So go check in the folded up bed

I ran into our bedroom, tripped over our coffee table, stumbled over the step you need to take to get into our bedroom and almost smashed into the bedroom door. Excited much? What gave me away? In the folded up bed I found a huge present. A frame with pictures of me and my dad and me and A from my very first half-marathon that I ran earlier in December in Bergen, with the program of the day and my starting number. A milestone in this past year. By then I was crying tons of happy tears, somehow managing reading the next message.

These two gifts you’ve easily found
But the next may require a hound
Go and find what reflects
Not a square or an X
It’s behind a glass mirror that’s round

So, now I had to look for a small round mirror in our apartment. Up to this point I didn’t even know that we had a little round mirror in our apartment. It only took me about another 37 minutes to find the little round mirror right next to my desk. A place where I look at EVERY SINGLE DAY. But apparently never paid attention. Behind the little mirror I found a small box with a refrigerator magnet in it showing the changing of the guards in London which we actually weren’t able to witness when traveling to London this past November. I instantly ran into the kitchen and plopped it onto our fridge, only then reading the next clue:

He’s as soft as a pillow or chamois
Too bad none of his songs will win grammys
When you turn off the light
He’ll stay active all night
The next gift’s on the cage of our Hamy

On top of Hamy’s cage, which is actually a huge aquarium, we have a small hollow ceramic lamp stand. Underneath I found a small box with a necklace. The necklace had a picture of the little prince. I love the book for obvious reasons but also because of the flower in it. The flower A took with him to our very first date, after he read the entire book. Because I told him, if he did ever want to get me flowers, it’d have to be the one in the book and that he did. I will never forget the day he came to pick me up with a single red rose. I then had to read the next clue.

Now to find the next gift I believe
You must look far beyond what you see
Its beauty is sound
Though we drug it cross town
Lift the lid and it rests on the keys

Our biggest project of 2012 I wanna say, was our piano. Which is not quite properly working right now but at least it makes sounds and it looks good. Underneath the lid I found the chocolate I so longed for, the best chocolate ever. Cadbury chocolate. How it makes me drool, just thinking about it and yes I already ate the entire chocolate bar… but the hunt wasn’t over here. I had one last present to be found:

There is one final gift within sight
So you must give it all of your might
You won’t get jetlag
From my roll aroundbag
But I’ll need it to check for my flight

And I wondered. What could it be? Only the most amazing thing ever: Cadbury, my penguin-pillow-pet. And yes, I am a grown-up woman and wished for a pillow-pet for Christmas and only cried like a baby when I finally held him in my arms. It’s the most amazing pillow ever, so soft and fluffy and squishy. Just talking about him warms my heart.

I can honestly say, it was the best Christmas ever. Not only because of the presents, but because I got to spend it with A. We  enjoyed the rest of the day sitting together, drinking tea, making Baklava and going to the activity house to have a wonderful Norwegian Christmas with pinnekjøtt and gløgg. Which, if we continue keeping this Christmas tradition up, will one day be our most favorite Christmas dinner… Maybe… Or not.

With this, we wish you guys a very merry (a bit belated) Christmas and many more wonderful ones to come.

Much love,

A & J