December is all about the Christmas Season, and you know it’s Christmas season in the military when you go to the post office and have to stand outside because all the wives are waiting in line to mail those Christmas packages to their spouses. What I didn’t tell you is you’ll be noticing this the last week of November, not the first week of December like most people believe. Of course, you can attempt to send a package off to another country the first week of December but this doesn’t mean that they’ll get it in time for Christmas. If you’ve ever tried this, you’ll understand.
Another sign that it is the Holiday Season on a military base is by watching the neighbors compete in who has the best light show. This can get quite entertaining for viewers as you’ll see something new on the street every night, all the way up until Christmas Eve. Do you have neighbors like this?
However where Christmas happens can be a bit more difficult. In the military, families can be together or separated due to deployments or schools, some may even celebrate Christmas in January or July depending when the spouse comes home. Sure, all of us left behind have a small Christmas…the kids would never forgive us if we didn’t. But it is the big one with the entire family that really counts.
When we first moved out to North Carolina we did it during the snow season, and left a tad bit early hoping to visit every family member between California and here. It was a lot of stops, however due to the weather we didn’t stay long in over half of the places. Which meant that once we landed, we had no way of checking in, at least not that early. Instead we stayed in the base hotel and that’s where we spent Christmas. Many may think this would not be a fun place to celebrate Christmas, however I must say we had a blast. Not only was I not having to clean up every little mess, but we were eating out, watching movies and exploring our new town. It snowed too, which meant the kids got to see the “white stuff” for the first time. The only tricky thing about having Christmas in a Hotel was getting the note to Santa. But that was just our first experience in a hotel at Christmas time. Do you have any Christmas stories to share with us?
This holiday Season keep in mind that, no matter where you are, you can have Christmas. Christmas doesn’t have to be in a home, it can be in a number of places: on the road, in a hotel, at a relative’s house, stuck at an airport, etc. As long as you’ve got your family with you, you’ve got the spirit of Christmas right there. What are some odd places you’ve spent Christmas?
To read about other Christmas Adventures, click on the links below:
First Christmas as a Couple, Here’s an Idea
Touring the Town for Christmas Lights