And the final part of Blogmas is here! Why does time flies so fast, I literally feel like I was writing the first post just a few days ago. I reckon this one is going to be the most festive and interesting one, as there was a lot happening, + there are many more photos.

But before I start with the activities I’ve done throughout this week, I’d like to tell just a little about holidays in Armenia, because here everything is quite different. First of all, Armenians are Christians but are of Apostolic Church. Our Christmas is not on Dec. 25, but January 6th, because of some old-new calendar shift that happened years and years ago (I’m bad at remembering numbers and dates so sorry for that). And we don’t celebrate Christmas that big, people go to churches or sometimes cemeteries, then have a small dinner. Our main holiday here is New Year, and we celebrate it just like everyone celebrates Christmas, if that makes sense. I mean all the Christmassy stuff like presents, christmas tree, decorations, gatherings, Santa Claus, we all do that for New Year. And our holidays last up until January 13 which is another little holiday called Old New Year. I know it sounds strange, but again it originated because of that same calendar shift. Same is in Russia, though their Christmas is on Jan. 7, and I reckon in some other countries as well. So it’s good for me, because I got to start getting festive from Dec. 1 and it lasts for more than a month. Though it’s kind of sad, when all vlogmases and Christmas mood end on internet, but in my country things are just getting started. I’m going to end the blogmas series with this one, as I think it’s pointless to talk about the festive spirit, when for most of my readers (if not all of them) the holidays are over. As for the 25th, me and my friend have a tradition of celebrating it in our own way and exchanging gifts. This year it sadly has to be postponed, so I don’t know what I’ll do on that day yet, as I like doing something different and a little extra for the “first” Christmas.

This week we had a blast with weather, we had lots of snow (well at least compared to the past few years). And my new favorite thing is fog with snow, as it looks much more magical, it feels like you’re all alone in this world, when the fog covers the buildings and everything else, and the only thing you see is the snow on branches of trees, or big beautiful snowflakes whirling in the air. I had a couple of delightful walks around and felt myself like in a fairy tale. Especially in twilight, when it wasn’t completely dark, and the lights of street lamps would reflect and glisten on the snow. Those fee days reminded me of Narnia, as everything looked really magical, and I even decided to reread and rewatch the “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” and do a little photoshoot as well.

All the last bits are coming together. The ugly sweater is out, though I don’t understand why it’s called ugly, I love this pattern. And I did a herbarium page with some evergreen branches.

I bought a poinsettia for my mom, as it is her favorite. And the coffee table is now all in red. I moved a few things from other corners to this table, but I don’t reckon I’ll leave them here, because the table is small and it’s really inconvenient, though it looks amazing, especially with the tree in the background.

And finally the tree is now full of ornaments. I love this process so much, when you put christmas songs on, dance around and decorate. It was double or triple as great, because it was snowing outside. It’s strange, but I don’t really like changing up the decorations in here, because I adore the combination of red ornaments and golden twinkle lights. This year however, instead of doing full red, we decided to add some golden ones as well and it looks really good. I don’t like when there are only ordinary baubles, I love the ones that have some special meaning or memories. Like the ones that were gifts from friends/family, the clay ones that my cousin made herself, a few ones I bought from other countries. They’re the ones that fill me heart with warmness. I also added some pinecones and the golden snowflakes, which I think are almost 15 years old, my aunt got them for us and they’re my absolute favorite. We have many old ones, even some of my parents’ ornaments, but they’re quite fragile, especially when you have a cat, who can drop the tree at any moment. Underneath the tree we have the christmas tree skirt (I didn’t know it’s called a skirt btw), a cute snowman some presents and the front piece of a train set, which reminds me of Polar Express and also my childhood, as I got a similar one as a Christmas present when I was a child. These little stuffed animals are also very old, but I can’t remember whether they came with Coca Cola bottles, or you had to collect the caps to win one.

I baked the Christmas sugar cookies. Usually I do some icing as well, but this year decided to leave them like this and eat them with some homemade jam and hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows. I know they don’t look festive enough, but it’s about the taste, not the look, right?

This post’s recommendations are going to be short animated films. There’s something special about these short cartoons and I really like them, just because sometimes you want to watch something new and good, but you don’t have time or mood for a whole long movie. Also I’m one of those people, who has to watch something while eating, so these are just perfect for that. Most of these are quite old, but somehow I watched them for the first time. “The Snowman” and its sequel “The Snowman and the Snowdog” so heartwarming and cozy, even without words it’s great. I love how its sequel is so similar to the original, that you won’t say there’s a 30-year-gap between them. And the song “Walking in the air” is such a sweet melody, like a lullaby. “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. To be honest I don’t understand all the fuss about Charlie Brown cartoons, maybe because I’m watching them as an adult. Maybe if I watched them as a child I’d love them. They’re quite alright, but for me not the best. “Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas”, “Shrek The Halls”, “Merry Madagascar”. These three are Christmas specials of my favorite cartoons (especially Ice Age), so obviously I just had to watch them and I really liked them, they were fun. “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. All roads lead to Dickens and Christmas Carol somehow. This was another adaptation of the famous book, for me not as great as the one with Jim Carrey, but still a good one. Though I wonder isn’t it too scary for children, especially the part with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come? I’d personally be quite frightened if I watched it as a child.

And I just realized that I haven’t properly written Christmas music recommendation. So here they are, right on time for the actual holidays. They always undoubtedly cheer you up and get you in the festive mood.

Well, that’s it for this post and Blogmas in general. I really enjoyed writing all these (especially this one), taking the photos, making collages. I’m sure I’ll be rereading these posts a lot during next years, as it has captured my December of this year, not completely, as I only wrote about the festive stuff, but still.

I know that lots of countries have lockdowns and restrictions again, but I hope you’ll be able to spend this magical time as good and fun as possible, do some festive and interesting activities and enjoy the holidays to the fullest possible. Luckily nowadays we can always be close to our loved ones, that’s one of the greatest advantages of internet.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you’ll all be safe, healthy and happy. That’s literally all we need. Merry Christmas again! 🎄✨