聖誕快樂!

In case you haven't already figured it out from the date of this post, the Chinese characters in the title above translate as "Merry Christmas" (Shèng​dàn​kuài​lè​). Here is my daughter showing off the goodies she received this morning:

This was the first "girly" Xmas for Amber in terms of the gifts she was given - her first Barbie doll ("Computer Engineer Barbie"); a Hello Kitty ハローキティ kitchen set, courtesy of Old St. Nick (last year he brought her a Hello Kitty bicycle); and a Pretty Fashion Shop featuring a doll named Mimi. The sharper-eyed among you, however, might notice a dinosaur and a toy train ("Salty" from Thomas & Friends, as a matter of fact) - proof that my little girl hasn't gone completely over to the pink side just yet.

This day has been a relatively quiet one for the family. After the ritual of opening the presents in the morning and talking with my parents over the phone, we had lunch in a Chinese-style teahouse, took a walk in the afternoon along one of the bicycle trails here in Fengyuan 豐原 and ended the day with a visit to my in-laws' home. Though white Christmases are pretty much out of the question in this country, it was good that the holiday (well, not in Taiwan) fell on a Sunday this year.

Here's hoping that you and your family also had a nice Christmas, wherever you are in this world.

Merry Christmas, メリークリスマス, 聖誕快樂 and Happy Holidays to you all!