O Tannenbaum

On Wednesday morning, Adeline's class went to the Theater in Mainz. Attending a play during the Christmas season is a school tradition here, so the tickets are booked well in advance at the venue even if the show has not be determined at the time they were purchased. Adeline did not know what she was going to see, just that she had to be at the school early to catch the bus. When she came home, she told us all about the characters and then I realized she had seen Wizard of Oz. She liked the storyline very much and is now excited to watch the movie.

In the afternoon, we attended a puppet show about three penguins. Some of Adeline's and Emmie's classmates also attended, so all of the children sat in the front row, while us parents sat at the back. It was good entertainment for a rainy afternoon.

Wednesday evening, we put the tree up in the apartment. Eric and I then strung the lights after the girls were in bed. I am thankful we rushed to get the tree on Sunday when we returned from Dortmund as it has been raining since Monday and is supposed to continue the rest of the week.

Picking out the tree was eventful as Emmie first wanted one of the trees that was smaller than her, then she picked out a tree a little taller than her, but it looked like a Charlie Brown tree as many of the trees did on the lot.

 Eric and Adeline had a good eye for two trees that were fuller and seemed to be a good height. When they determined the best one, the man measured it, we payed him as the price is based on the height and then he wrapped it up. Eric tied it down to the top of our Audi and he got it home safely while driving the curvy hilly roads through town.

Thursday afternoon, we finally decorated the Christmas tree. It seemed late to me to be putting up the tree, but here most people do not do it until the week of Christmas or on Christmas Eve. After I put up a few of the breakable ornaments near the top, the girls had fun selecting a spot for each ornament. I noticed now that they are getting taller, the ornaments are spread more out around the tree and not clumped in one place as in years pass. 

Adeline and Emmie did a fabulous job decorating it and now enjoy just standing by it and admiring the decorations.