We’re well in the thick of fall weather in Amsterdam, so I’ve started thinking about what I want to put on my fall bucket list this year. Since Halloween isn’t really a thing in Europe and Thanksgiving obviously doesn’t happen here, the Christmas season starts a bit earlier here than it does in the states. We will probably start in on our Christmas prep beginning in early November, especially since we will be flying back to California in early/mid December to spend the actual holiday with family — so don’t be surprised that a lot of the below is very Christmas-centric. Here’s what I’ve come up with for my list so far:
- Vote! I have actually already gotten and filled out my ballot, so I just need to get some international postage and send this bad boy off. Trump all the way! (Kidding guys, OBVIOUSLY. Barf.)
- Make a delicious scent on the stove so the whole apartment smells like the holidays. (And then post the recipe so you all can make one too!)
- Make homemade enchiladas, since I was able to track down green enchilada sauce at the international store nearby.
- Figure out if there is any Halloween activity to take Prim to in Amsterdam. So far I’ve come up with nothing, but we’re still planning to have her dress up!
- Celebrate Thanksgiving. Right now it looks like we will be heading to a local restaurant that supposedly does an American-style Thanksgiving dinner. (Because I’m not about to scour Holland for turkey and all the trimmings to make an entire Thanksgiving feast solo at 27 weeks pregnant. No thanks.)
- Make beef stew, which means making beef stock from scratch. Looks like a trip to the butcher is in order.
- Visit the Amsterdam Christmas markets.
- Take a trip with KC and Prim to visit another country’s Christmas markets. (Right now the tentative plan is to head to Austria to hit Vienna’s!)
- Pick up some Dutch goodies to bring back to California for Christmas. (Ummm probably not anything featuring Zwarte Piet though…)
- And finally, the biggie: KC and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this December (and 12 years together in total — holy moly) so we are planning on taking a little babymoon/anniversary trip to Paris together… without Prim. This will be the first time I have left Prim overnight ever, so I’m simultaneously super excited and totally nervous at the prospect.
What’s on your list this year?