For us, Christmas is always a time of traditions and togetherness, but being out of the country for the holidays challenges the status quo in both of those areas. We’re not in a position to follow any of our beloved family traditions, our nuclear family is split up because my husband is back in Atlanta and the cost for him to come down for the week is exorbitant, and time with our extended family & friends is just not a part of this season at all. With everything being so different, we’ve had to re-frame our expectations and turn every possible lemon into Bolivian lemonade.

So how are we celebrating Christmas while living abroad? 

• We decorated a corner of the living room with a small Christmas tree and lights. It’s the first artificial tree we’ve ever had, but I’m so grateful for it…and the pine-scented candle on the mantle.
• We normally make homemade cookies from scratch. The kids love rolling out the dough and using our growing assortment of cookie cutters, but this year we’re decorating store-bought cookies and calling it a day. I’ve given up on baking at this altitude. Nothing I try works, so I’m going to cut myself some slack on this one. I’ll bust out the rolling pin again in December 2018.
• The kids always have advent calendars. Some years, we use the cheap cardboard ones from Trader Joe’s with a piece of chocolate behind each door. Other years, we use our permanent one, and I put something tiny and fun behind each door. This year, I knew Christmas was going to be quiet and super simple, so I got these Lego advent calendars for my oldest daughter, my youngest daughter, and my oldest son. I struggled with the decision because I think they’re overpriced, but their anticipation and joy each morning has been well worth the splurge.
• We always attend the Atlanta Ballet Nutcracker, and last year we also saw Ballethnic’s Urban Nutcracker featuring the Reggae Ragdolls, the Black Russian, Mama Spice, and Brown Sugar with her Chocolatier (Loved it!). This year, we attended a wonderful ballet performance that was very similar to the Nutcracker in terms of costuming and a candy-filled imaginary dream world, but it featured all Bolivian dancers and Latin-inspired music. It was called El Dulce Mundo del Conde Pasas a Rum, and the children loved it.
• For the past 3 years we’ve decorated gingerbread houses with icing and candy galore. If I’d been on top of my game, I could’ve ordered these from Amazon weeks ago, but I missed the boat. Instead, we made “stained-glass” ornaments out of tissue paper that I brought down with me. I readily admit that the art project wasn’t nearly as “sweet” as the gingerbread houses, but the kids enjoyed it and no one has mentioned the houses. I’ll take that as a win.
• Shopping for and filling our Operation Christmas Child boxes is a tradition that we all love (last year’s boxes are pictured here), but this year we’re giving gifts in person to a family in great need that we’ve met down here. We also volunteered at a Christmas party for hurting families here earlier this month and attended Christmas service at a local Bolivian church.
• The kids will still open gifts on Christmas morning while Daddy looks on via Facetime. We open round-robin style, so whoever is in the special seat is the only person opening gifts. This helps the kids share the joys of giving and receiving by showing each sibling their full attention. It also cuts down on the chaos that would ensue if 4 kids started ripping through wrapping paper simultaneously.
• In the past, I’ve checked out 20+ Christmas-themed library books, and I read one aloud to the kids each night in December. It’s like a literary advent calendar. I obviously couldn’t bring all of those books with me to Bolivia, and sadly, there’s no public library here so we couldn’t replicate the tradition down here. We are, however, still reading our Bible daily and exploring the wonder of the birth of our Lord and Savior. We’re also listening to parts of Handel’s Messiah most days.
• Each year, our house is full of Christmas music – mostly soulful renditions of seasonal favorites and old-time gospel hits  but also traditional classics with a few newbies thrown in for good measure. While I generally consider “Alexa” to be a frivolous and unnecessary addition to our kitchen counter, it was awesome to be able to instantly call up our favorite Christmas music all season long. We’re still filling the house with Christmas tunes down here, but we’re playing mediocre Youtube mixes on my laptop. Not as convenient, but that’s totally a First World problem so I’ll happily deal.
• We normally make ornaments and sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home. I wasn’t able to coordinate something similar involving my children down here, but tonight I’ll be caroling in local brothels with the staff & volunteers of a beautiful ministry, Word Made Flesh. They are standing with the Lord to bring “abundant life for those affected by prostitution in El Alto, Bolivia.” I’m so excited to stand in the presence of God’s love with the forgotten, ignored, and condemned this evening (and beyond). May He bless our efforts.

As of right now, the kids and I will be here alone on Christmas as our hostess will actually be with her family in the U.S. (Hilarious, right?) That probably sounds a little depressing, but I’m honestly looking forward to us making simple new memories together in our jammies with pancakes, yummy syrup (Thank you, Amazon!), hot chocolate, and hearts pointed toward Him. I want the children to know that whether we do everything or nothing at all, the “reason for the season” is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore; and we’ll live that out this year more than ever before.

Merry Christmas to each of you! xoxo