It’s that time of year when every weekend is filled with parties, pot lucks, and school events, all of which require you to bring something for the communal table. But you still need to go to work, take care of the kids, clean and decorate the house, finish your holiday shopping, and complete a Santa-sized to-do list of various other festive chores.

It’s okay. You got this! Below is the no-bake quick and easy cookie recipe my friend swears by to help make the holidays just a little easier. And considering many of us don’t have access to an oven in our Beijing apartments this is a gift all its own.

Pro tip: Make ahead and freeze a few batches so when your little elf tells you at breakfast they need to bring something for today’s class party, you are prepared!

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups white sugar
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup butter
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa.
• Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla.
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.
• For festive flair top with red and green sprinkles.

KEEP READING: Roundabout Gifts to Make Them Smile

Images: Unsplash

Beijingers certainly know how to put the “cheers” in holiday cheer. But if you find yourself getting ready to celebrate a new member of the family, you might be missing your favorite holiday libations this year. For all you moms who still want to raise a stylish glass, here are a few of our favorite festive mocktails.

The Poinsettia

• 12 oz sparkling water
• 2 oz pomegranate juice
• 1 oz cranberry juice
• 1 sprig of thyme for garnish

Mix and serve in a champagne flute.

Mrs. Clause

• 2 crushed candy canes
• 1 orange peel
• 1 cup water
• Soda water
• Splash of orange juice

Bring water to a boil and add lemon peel and crushed candy canes until fully dissolved. Let it cool overnight. Add the cool simple syrup to the soda water, top with some orange juice to taste, and add a candy cane or orange peel for garnish.

Mulling it Over

• 2 cups grape juice
• 1 orange rind
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 5 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Sliced apples and oranges for garnish

Bring all ingredients to a low simmer for 15 min. Serve in a mug.

Snuggler

• 2 Tbsp Nutella
• 2 cups milk
• Whipped cream

Heat milk in a saucepan, mix in Nutella until melted. Serve in a mug with whipped cream.

Keep Reading: Finding a Tree To Trim in Beijing

Images: Unsplash

I am not a Christmas all year-’round kind of girl. In my opinion, the holidays are magical precisely because they’re for a limited time only. Having said that, when December does roll around, I am a go-all-in, deck every hall, play Bing Crosby on repeat, watch all the old ABC stop motion holiday specials, bake, eat, and repeat for one month out of the year kind of girl. And for me, the festivities start with an epic Christmas tree. Shocker, they are hard to find here in Beijing. Especially if you want a live one, and I do!

There is nothing like the smell of pine and cinnamon to make you feel jolly and bright. I know you can get special candles and scented sticks that make the fake trees smell authentic but it’s just not the same. So last year I went on the hunt for a real tree and wound up finding three places to buy one.

Shopsmith: Ellen at Shopsmith heard the plight of the stranded expat last year and began offering live tree delivery. Not only are they beautiful spruces but they come with the roots attached so they can be replanted at the end of the season. Pick up after the holidays can be arranged. This does mean you need to buy a pot and soil as well as the tree but that is all available on their WeChat mini-program. A two-meter tree, soil, pot, and delivery will run you RMB 322. But the trees range in price from RMB 135 for one meter all the way up to RMB 798 for three and a half meters. Go to the Mini program by searching ‘shopsmith’ to order.

My PengYou: This year they are offering a tree service as well. The tree comes potted and prices include delivery. They start at 1meter for RMB 469 and go to 2.5m for RMB 1319 with taller trees available but prices unlisted. Scan the QR code in the flyer for more information.

Studio Flowers: If you are in the market for mini Studio Flowers is running a trim your tree workshop for table-sized pines. It’s a little pricey at Rmb 418 but it does include all the decorations. They also have wreath workshops! Scan the QR code in the poster below for more information.

Taobao: The only other option I found for a live tree was a shop on Taobao. These trees also appear to come with the roots attached but I got no response when I asked if I needed a pot or a stand. A 40-centimeter tree starts at RMB 110.28 and prices go up until you get to four meters, which run RMB 975.

If you aren’t a snob like me then an artificial tree might be better and more convenient. Luckily, there are several options.

Roundabout: Every expat’s favorite resale store is having a holiday blowout sale that includes, you guessed it, Christmas trees! Not only will you get a great deal but you will also be keeping trash out of landfills and giving back to the community, as profits from Roundabout go to local charitable causes. Prices vary.

Ikea: The Siyuanqiao location carries a broad array of artificial options ranging from desktop-sized to 210cm. Aside from trees, they also have plenty of decorations and even some Swedish treats for stockings. Prices range from RMB 299-RMB 799. You can check availability by visiting their website here.

And of course, back to Taobao: So many options. This particular store offers 100cm artificial trees starting at RMB 35 and going all the way up to a 600cm tree for RMB 3,873.93. Decorations can also be found at the same store and some trees have options to come pre-decorated.

KEEP READING: Warming Up the Beijing Winter With Glühwein

Images: Taobao, Ikea, Roundabout, WeChat

I was uninitiated in the tradition of the Advent Calendar until recently, when some research taught me that it was a rather important part of the classic Christmas celebration. Taken from the Latin word adventus, which means “arrival” or “coming,” Advent is the time of year when the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated. But since it has been globally adopted, the advent calendar has grown into a symbol of anticipation and hope, which I find to be a universal message applicable to all.

The origins of the advent calendar started with chalk marks on a door or wall that counted down the days to Christmas. Other modifications saw the lighting of a candle for each day, starting around Nov 27, as well as families designing and building their own advent calendars from natural resources like wood or cloth.

In the 1900s, advent calendars gained popularity through German printer Gerhard Lang, who himself had grown up with a homemade calendar. He later innovated the idea of having little doors that could be opened to reveal a devotional picture or a biblical verse.

These days, an advent calendar usually hides a piece of candy or small toy for kids, which largely reflects the modern, consumerist take on Christmas. But we really don’t need more of that, so how about a return to some traditional values?

This year, I’m advocating for advent calendars that hold a different message for each day in the lead-up to Christmas. These messages should reflect your family values and experiences and can be written by each member. Think of it as a Secret Santa, but with the unprecedented power of words. You can adopt affirmations from wellness websites and apps, or recognize a specific action that someone in the family performed, or simply write down your favorite thing about your family member. The only condition should be that it’s all positive and rooted in love.

For families who want to go the extra mile, you could even try the Reverse Advent Calendar, an initiative organized by the International School of Beijing (ISB) back in 2018 in which each day students donate a different item to New Hope Foster Home. So instead of taking a little something, you give! These items were all necessities such as a bag of white rice and a bottle of oil, which can make a world of difference in the lives of others. You could also personalize this idea and encourage your kids to give out a small token of appreciation to a different person in their class or school. These tokens could be drawings, written notes, or even a cookie if your family is into baking!

If you prefer to go the easy way and buy an advent calendar off TaoBao, we’ve found a few beautiful, reusable ones that would look great on your walls year after year.

What type of Advent Calendar will you go for this year? Tell us in the comments!

KEEP READING: Giving Children the Gift of a Gratitude Attitude

Images: Unsplash, TaoBao

Hello everyone and welcome to the start of the holiday season. Last year around this time we posted an article about combating “the gimmies” and it feels just as relevant now as it did then. So in the spirit of remembering the real reason for the holidays we are reposting.

Several years ago, one of my longtime parents, who I will call Susan, came back from winter break with her toddler. I asked how her holiday was and she replied, “It was the worst Christmas ever!” and then proceeded to tell me her story.

Susan’s kids had been vibrating with excitement for weeks. Nights spent writing wish lists, hours online to see the “real Santa,” and entire days lost in stores trying to find the toys they “had to have” all built up a sense of anticipation not just for the kids but the whole family. Simply put, they were excited to give their kids the best Christmas ever!

The big day finally came and a 20-minute free-for-all of flying boxes and squealing delight ensued. When the last of the tissue paper had settled, her eldest looked over the piles of new shiny toys and asked, “Is that it?”

Susan told me, “I have never felt like more of a failure as a parent! This ends now!” To her credit, the next year she had a battle plan to combat what she called “the gimmes.” I think it’s brilliant and hope it helps make your holidays richer and more meaningful.

Gifting not getting

Susan encouraged the kids to put more thought into making gifts for other members of the family — whether that was a family portrait in crayon from the 3-year-old or the now 8-year-old’s handmade friendship bracelets. Each child used their talents to make other people happy.

Every person has something they can do that is special. Something that they are, or should be, proud of. This is true of our kids too. By helping them identify their skills, and using them to make others feel good, you are telling your child that they matter, that their actions, words, and decisions have value. Let them get creative with their talents and watch what it will do for their self-esteem.

Gratitude every day

Every night at dinner, from Thanksgiving through the New Year, she asked each member of the family to share one thing that they were grateful for. She said it helped give them all perspective during a season in which they were bombarded with messages that they needed more “things” to be happy.

Gratitude is a step we so often skip with our kids because it feels complicated (entire self-help anthologies have been written on the subject) but it’s really acknowledging the little things that make us happy. Kids are naturally good at that. Gratitude reminds us we have enough and we are safe. We can give some of it away so others feel safe too. And that is important for the next step in Susan’s holiday rehab…

Make a difference

Susan asked each child to purchase a gift for a child they had never met, who otherwise would not have a holiday present. She neither picked nor paid for the gifts. Instead, the kids did chores around the house to earn the money for the gifts and chose a present to drop in the Toys for Tots donation box.

Make gift opening an event

Let’s be honest, you’re never going to convince your kids that presents don’t matter at all, and frankly, it’s really fun to give them the things they want! Susan and her husband decided to keep the tradition but make a few minor changes. Wish lists had to be three items or less.

And rather than everyone ripping into a million presents at the same time, the family took turns watching each other open gifts. This made each package special and since the kids had taken the time to contribute this year, they got a lot of joy watching their siblings and parents open the present they had made. This kind of practical mindfulness can enhance any experience!

Make thank you cards

It all came full circle back to gratitude. Before anyone got to play with a new toy, they had to make a heartfelt thank you card for the person who sent it. Susan laid out construction paper, crayons, and stickers to help the kids express their gratitude in a creative way.

Getting a gift is fun no matter your age and receiving a sincere thank you card always puts a smile on someone’s face. By taking the time to start and end the process with a thank you, we can add so much more meaning to everyone’s experience.

Keep the holiday spirit alive

This particular story revolves around the holiday season, but gratitude and service can be a year-round part of your family’s life. If your family loves the dinner time gratitude share, keep it! Did your child like volunteering at the animal shelter? See if they want to make it a monthly commitment. You might find that these little things add another layer of joy to your already joyful life and set really positive habits for your child.

It’s not about the money

There will be points in every person’s life when they can’t make a monetary donation, but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer their community. Help them identify other ways they can give back. Children are passionate, so start with the things they care deeply about.

• Do you have a little environmentalist? Help them organize a park clean up.

• Is your child concerned about world hunger or animal rights? Maybe a local soup kitchen or animal shelter could use some help on weekends.

• Do they love pets? Perhaps you can foster a puppy in need of adoption.

This goes back to teaching them that their actions matter. And people who believe they matter make different choices. They build healthier, stronger, and more just communities.

Susan and her family took back the holidays by making them about others. Our kids have so much to be grateful for and spreading the love only helps make their life richer and fuller! So, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or just the literal transition from shorter colder days to longer warmer ones, Happy Holidays. May your hearts be warm and may we all move towards the light together!

KEEP READING: Beijing Gratitude List

Images: Canva

One of the great things about being an expat is exposure to so many other traditions. I have learned how to make arepas under the tutelage of a Venezuelan and discovered the joy that is Cadbury from the Brits. But as we brace for the colder months ahead, it is my German friends who introduced me to the joy that is glühwein – aka mulled wine! This mix of red wine and warming spices not only makes you feel comfy and cozy but will also leave your home smelling like the holidays for days after you make it.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of dry red wine (substitute grape juice for a child-friendly version or mommy mocktail)
• 2-3 sticks of cinnamon
• 10-15 whole cloves
• 3-4 whole star anise
• 1 orange
• Spiced rum or brandy (optional)

To Make:

1. Pour the red wine into a saucepan or small soup pot
2. Add the cinnamon sticks
3. Push the cloves into the orange and cut the orange into rounds, approximately ½ an inch thick. Add to the wine
4. Add the star anise
5. Let it simmer on low for 15 minutes (add rum/brandy if desired for the last 5 minutes)
6. Allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes, or as many as several hours (the longer it sits the more the cinnamon and cloves will infuse the wine)
7. Pour into your favorite mug and sip with people who make you happy!

KEEP READING: Not Going Home for the Holidays? Good! There’s Plenty To Do Right Here in Bejing

Images: Unsplash

Most of us aren’t going home for the holidays. It sucks, ’nuff said. Now, what do you say we make the most of it? There are worse places to be stranded in than a cosmopolitan city with tons of resources. So let’s take a look at some of the amazing things happening right here in Beijing that are worth looking forward to.

German Christmas Market: No one loves Christmas quite like the Germans and they go all out. Amazing decorations, mulled wine, and tons of fun crafts and great shopping. Hit it up on Nov 27 to kick off the season in homey, comforting style. Info Below!

Fragrant Hills: Or any of the other billions of cool hiking locations within a two-hour drive. We have a few weeks of great hiking weather left before the real cold snap hits. So go get some fresh air and watch the leaves before they fall. Check out Beijing Hikers’ official WeChat account at Beijing Hikers or The CN Travelers group (chinatravellers.com) for lots of fun end of fall ideas.

Catching Olympic fever: The Opening Ceremony isn’t until Feb 4, but the official Olympic Flame landed in the capital last month. Start brushing up on athletes to watch and maybe even create a family bracket for your favorite sports.

Decorate with a twist: If you don’t want to do traditional bobbles, find local decorations to trim your tree. Instead of glass balls try red lanterns, lucky cats, or stuffed baozi that you can leave up through Chinese New Year. Not only will it make a fun memory but it’s sure to make for great social media posts. Let the kids get creative.

New Year’s Eve: It may not be New York or Sydney but it’s got stellar views and much fewer crowds. Pick an awesome New Year’s party with a great view of the city and say hello to 2022 in style.

Shop ’til you drop: If you’re not traveling, you’re saving a lot of cash, and China just happens to be where all the good stuff is made. Spend a little on your favorite luxuries or go all out for friend gifts. A bit of self-pampering will do you a world of good and remind you that most of us can’t live this well in our home countries.

Love the ones you’re with: I know some of us can’t be with our families (immediate or extended) this year but your Beijing besties are pretty awesome. Make some cocoa, put on some footy PJs, and watch It’s a Wonderful Life with the people who have kept you grounded and lifted you up over the past year. Family is more than blood relations.

KEEP READING: Giving Children the Gift of a Gratitude Attitude

Images: Pexels

I have very specific memories of the schedule my family kept around Easter. We bought our new Easter clothes and yes, bonnets, at least a month ahead of time. There was Good Friday mass at school and a half-day – hurray! All of Saturday was taken up by trotting around flower stands with our Dad to find the right kind of flower to match each relative’s personality: Great Aunt Mimi liked ones she could plant in her garden; Nana Wil liked yellow ones; and so on. That night we painted eggs, in the morning our parents hid them, and we gorged on the massive baskets our parents gave us, everything in duplicate so there could be no fighting.

Me and my sister at a family gathering. This was Christmas, not Easter, but you get the idea.

And then, of course, the visiting. We timed the visits to all our relatives very carefully, centered around meals and mass and not eating too much at one house or you’d seem rude when you were offered another dinner shortly after. There was an order to things, with the trunk of our car filling with Easter chocolates and candies and toys.

When I told my then-boyfriend and now-husband about it, assuming that was also his family’s ritual, he just said that sounded exhausting. In the decade we were together before we became parents, holiday traditions were something to be ignored (like Valentine’s Day, why put so much pressure on one day when we showed our appreciation all the time?) or created from scratch (Christmas became a full-day marathon viewing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, complete with meals themed to the movie).

Because we lived far enough away from our parents, even while in the same country, we had the freedom to create our own holidays; we weren’t beholden to uphold a tradition or a relative ritual just because it was expected. There was one time when we didn’t really have a choice in our kids being part of festivities, and that was two years ago.

Before we moved to Beijing, my spouse and I had to visit the city to find a home and get other details of our move-in order. The most trusted babysitter our kids had at the time was an active participant in her church, and it was there that our kids were introduced to the Easter bunny, Easter baskets, and essentially an all-you-can-eat candy feast. We had agreed to it ahead of time because we adore this woman and she promised they wouldn’t watch the mass or anything religious if we didn’t want them to.

Their more “traditional” Easter in 2019 versus last weekend.

As we moved across the world, that privilege only became more acute. Now we weren’t even in a country that really celebrated our American holidays, or at least didn’t inundate you with their commercial side the minute you walked into a grocery shop. Plus, we had a whole new batch of holidays to learn. Even when surrounded by expat events that felt familiar, we could choose between dinner with our chosen family or community experiences. We could choose.

Hanging out with people at our own pace meant we were able to stop and look at murals or collect nature treasures.

At no time was that more obvious to me than last weekend and Easter. The kids and I had already decorated our own eggs, so they didn’t really want to do that. Instead, we spent every day of the long weekend with different groups of friends at various parks or favorite spots around Beijing. Some little issues with the parks notwithstanding, we took the time to really be with people and embrace our long weekend. There were Easter egg activities for sure, and chocolate hunting, but it was all at our own pace and on a loose schedule we had created, not one handed down from the oldest generation that dictated how we would spend not just one day, but the entire long weekend.

That is just one of the interesting freedoms about being an expat that really appeals to us. I have kept the bin of tried and true holiday books and decorations that stay meaningful to our kids year after year, but at no point did they ask why they didn’t get an Easter basket, or why there wasn’t more candy. We made a point to appreciate the uniqueness of every outdoor area we visited and build deeper relationships with their friends here. We’re all aware of how transitory the life of an expat can be, and how many times we must say goodbye and learn how to say hello in yet another language.

I’m grateful their memories will be full of relationships and adventures, and not someone else’s traditions.

KEEP READING: Teaching Kids About Finances: The Expat Mom

Images: Cindy Marie Jenkins

We had such great responses to our article in the December issue on how strict traditions are overrated that we’d thought we’d share more stories from Beijing families. Here are some of our favorite responses from all around the city!

Van de Velde-Kasujja family (Gerd, Pearl, Ava, 9, and Tes, 1).

Like many expats living far away from home, spending the Christmas holidays in Beijing means a few adjustments on how we celebrate.

For example, back in Belgium, the holiday gift-giving season starts on 6th December, on the Sinterklaasfest where young children sing songs, put shoes in front of chimneys (with a carrot for Sinterklaas’s horse… how nice!) and Sinterklaas in turn leaves gifts behind for them.

When spending the holidays in Beijing, we try to connect with family on video chat, the only challenge being the hour difference between China and Europe and Africa (Where mum lives). We also make sure the kids feel the Christmas spirit by having them involved in decorating the tree and choosing and wrapping presents (not their presents of course :).

We try to spend alternate holidays with family back in Europe and Africa, but we also love the opportunity the holidays provide us to travel and explore the diverse parts of China and the different countries around Asia.

Alessdandra Azambuja and Family

The only thing that comes to my mind now about adjusting holidays celebrations after moving to China is when we first moved to Beijing, about ten years ago. After few years here, when my kids were attending a chinese primary school there were no Christmas holidays. I remember for a couple of times we had to “move” our Christmas Day to the weekend, as Christmas Day was a weekday and my son had exam on that day and could not miss the class. So we just told the kids Christmas was a few days later, during the weekend. For these years, Santa Claus visited us on a different day, not on Dec. 24.
I’m so thankful my kids can attend an international school now and we are able to celebrate Christmas together and enjoy this holiday season!

KEEP READING: Strict Holiday Traditions Are Overrated: Adapting Western Holidays to Fit Our Beijing Lifestyle

Photos: Courtesy of the families, Canva