Going Places

We love to travel, and living in Beijing has made jetsetters of our kids. They’ve not only seen several countries but have totally submerged themselves in China in all its fabulous incarnations––from Harbin to Hainan.

Truth be told, though, it’s not always been easy travelling with two tots in tow. I’m sick of juggling the weather with seasons with the flying hours, distance, dodgy stopover options, school vacation times, work commitments, horrendous high-peak seasons and Chinese national holidays. It can be a real feat in logistics gelling these elements into a cohesive, low-stress family adventure.

Then there’s the packing, like when we visited winter and summer all in one trip. Never again. For my husband and I, packing is easy––two pairs of walking shoes, an iPod and we’re out the door. With kids, you need a masters degree in organization and a perennial supply of tiny teddy cookies. From the essentials to the just-in-case items, it can be a little nightmarish, when all you really want is easy as peasy pie.

So, when booking our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia over Christmas, I played it safe. If it were just us grown-ups, we’d have booked flights and voyaged on a wing and a prayer, but because two travel mites are tagging along, things are a little different.

Basically, we’ve booked every living moment in advance, from the flights to the bowl of pho noodles on Thursday January 1st at 12.17pm on Hung Vuong Street, Hanoi. We’ve even booked the sunset over Angkor Wat, for goodness sake. We’ve got the cars, the guides, the hotels, the restaurants, the markets––all in sight, all locked in. My brain is so jam-packed with information, you could use my head like a View-Master––just look through my eyeballs and see a travel guide on Vietnam.

You see––we want to relax and enjoy our holiday rather than agonize over rumbling tummies and blisters and how much to pay for a cyclo ride. Yes, we do want to spend languorous hours in swimming pools––to counterbalance the forced-sightseeing the kids have to bear. Travelling is a time to focus on each other as well as the wondrous sights and experiences around us. For me, this artful balance is what travelling with kids is all about.

First published in City Weekend Beijing magazine and on the website.

Finish off your wrapping with a personal touch


Beijing Tags

Find some small red jian zhi, or Chinese paper cuts, available at Hongqiao and Yashow markets. Using a glue stick, carefully attach your paper cut to white paper then cut around it with decorative-edged scissors. Paste the tag to a larger piece of red card and trim to size. Make sure you leave a space at the top to punch a hole for ribbon. Flip the tag to write your Christmas message and attach it to your gift.

Face Tags
Take a photo of your gift's recipient and cut out their face and hair completely. Using paper or card that coordinates with your wrapping paper, cut the desired shape for your tag - circles, rectangles or stars - and make sure the face you've cut out will fit your shape. Glue the photo in the center of your shape. Cut a second, larger shape from a contrasting piece of card and glue your tag on top. Punch a hole for ribbon. Turn the card over and write your name. You can also write "To:" on the front of the tag if you want, or a holiday greeting. If your tag is large enough, you can add other decorations like stickers or a Santa hat.


First published in beijingkids magazine and on the beijingkids website.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The sparkle of a fairy light, the gleam of a glass orb through snow-covered branches – this is the stuff traditional Christmas trees are made of.

Whether it’s aromatically authentic or fabulously fake, decorating a Christmas tree is one of the most delicious parts of the holiday season. But why not branch out a little and make this year’s Beijing tree – whether real or faux – something truly special? Inside, find some ideas for Christmas ornaments which involve the whole family, and perhaps inspire kids to create their own masterpieces.

Sweet Candy TreeMaterials:

Wrapped candy

Ribbon

Popcorn

Needle and bright red thread

White cardboard

Glue or tape

Scissors

Twist ties

See how long this tree can last before all the ornaments end up nibbled! Try to purchase Christmas-themed candy if you can; otherwise, any other brightly colored candy will also work.

Make candy garlands by stapling the ends of the wrappers together. Hook striped candy canes over branches. Unwrap candies and glue them together to make little balls, wedging a piece of ribbon in between for hanging. It is a good idea to test the glue, as some candy wrappers can’t be stuck easily. Double-sided tape will also work.

Thread popcorn using bright red thread and a long needle. Tie a knot after piercing the first popcorn through the center, then keep threading until your popcorn chain is long enough.

If you want to make a tree topper, cut a star out of cardboard and use glue or double-sided tape to cover it with candies. Tape a skewer to the back and use twist ties to affix at the top of the tree.

Gingerbread TreeMaterials:

Gingerbread cookies

Ribbon

Red and white pipe cleaners (optional)

Nothing tastes and smells more like Christmas than gingerbread cookies. Be sure to make at least two batches (one to eat and one to hang)! The hanging cookies should be baked longer until they are crisp.

Hang cookies with ribbon and dot bows throughout the tree for a charming Santa’s workshop look. Add little retro toys or red and white candy canes, or make your own candy canes by twisting together red and white pipe cleaners.

Winter Woollies TreeMaterials:

Brightly colored yarn

Thick card or poster board

Scissors

This warm and woolly tree is extremely easy to create – the hardest part will be choosing your color scheme! Make pompoms and tassels in various sizes and colors and dot them along the tree.

To make pompoms, cut circles from thick card or poster board. Then cut a hole in the middle and wind yarn around the ring, pulling one end through the hole in the center. The more yarn you wind, the fuller your pompom will be. After you finish winding, hold the center of the circle to keep the yarn in place, then cut around the outside to release the strands. Insert a separate piece of yarn between your card circles and tie off tight to form the pompom. Leave this piece of yarn long so you can use it as a hanger. Carefully ease the card rings off the pompom and then trim neatly.

Tassels are also easy to make. Using an 8cm piece of savare card, wind yarn around it at least 12 times. Remove the loops from the card, gather tightly in the center; use a separate piece of yarn to tie a knot in the middle, leave a loop for hanging. Cut one end of the tassel’s loops and pull the strands down into a bunch.

Paper Snow TreeMaterials:

White paper

Pale blue ribbon

Glitter

Glue

Scissors

Stapler

Create a shimmering winter wonderland using just ribbon, white paper and a dash of glitter. Make paper chains by cutting 3cm by 21cm strips of paper and stapling them into loops. For a lacy look, use craft scissors to embellish your strips with a decorative edge before stapling.

To add an icy cool touch, nestle snowflakes amongst the branches. Fold a square of white paper in half diagonally, then in half again. Fold the triangle in thirds, making sure the sides line up. Snip off the points at the bottom and continue by cutting out small notches and circles.

After you have made your cuts, unfurl your creation. Hang with silvery thread or pale blue ribbon. For added sparkle, dab craft glue onto your snowflakes and paper chains, sprinkle with glitter and let dry. For a little more color, tie bows of pale blue ribbon here and there, or let them hang down on the branches like icicles.

Beijing TreeMaterials:

Red tassels

Little Chinese dolls

Hong bao (red envelopes)

Beijing cards or postcards

Red or gold ribbon

Celebrate a real Beijing Christmas by decorating the tree in honor of your host country. Start by dangling red tassels and little Chinese dolls from outer branches. Punch a hole in the top of small hong bao and thread through red or gold ribbon; hang the envelopes on inner branches for a pop of color. You can also use the flat, gold-filigreed ornaments found at many local markets.

Make the Beijing postcard ornaments by punching or cutting circles from the cards. Fold circles in half and glue four of them together, wedging a ribbon loop in between. Clamp until dry. For a faster result, use double-sided tape.

First published in beijingkids magazine and on the beijingkids website. Photographs by Luna Zhang.

Christmas Tree Mania in China's Capital

Oh, it's all over now, baby


We're only been here a week, but it seems both Cambodia and Vietnam have jumped onto Santa's sleigh and dashered headlong into the Christmas come-Vixen hoo-ha of the West.

I mean, I guess I kind of expected it - Christmas seems to be everywhere in the world short of the odd pygmy colony sequestered in the depths of the Amazon jungle. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised if pygmies were onto it... if KFC can hold court in Siem Reap, I suppose anything is possible. Perhaps intrepid travellers wouldn't bat an eyelid if they cruised down a remote part of the Amazon in a canoe and happened upon a primal colony with horns through their noses, sipping mulled wine and nibbling on gingerbread men whilst clicking their tongues to Jingle Bells.

So, despite travelling around these very Eastern countries, we're not missing out on the festivities, that's for sure - even if it is in the form of half-cocked Christmas trees in Nha Trang, polystyrene snowmen melting in the muggyness of Ho Chi Minh City or smiling "merry Christmas"es from tour guides in Angkor Wat.

As for China, it seems Christmas has always been there. It has since we arrived in Beijing in 2005, anyway. Each year, it's absolutely no surprise for any of us to see this festive time unfold in pockets all over the city, from the luscious baskets of goodies in hotel foyers to the morass of plastic bling spilling out of market stalls.

But last week, I was riding in a cab past the Worker's Stadium and I saw something really shocking. In fact, it made me gasp out loud and clasp a hand over my mouth to stop me from going "Nooooooo!"

There is stood, tall and high and blinged to within an inch of its life, right in the Stadium's forecourt, poking skyward blatantly, with barefaced audacity and nary a care in the world who saw it or what anyone thought of it.

And what was this horrendous blight on the landscape of Beijing?

It was a giant Christmas tree.

Now, before you "bah humbug, Scrooge!" me, I must remind you that I am truly Mrs Claus incarnate. I love Christmas and everything about it, from the wee baby in the manger to the baubles, mulled wine and goodwill to all men. Yes, I'm even happy to admit I buy into the commercialism. I'll never forget wandering the malls of Singapore two years ago, blatantly delighting in every commercial drop - the piped carols, the decorations, the overpriced gifts, the all-encompassing Christmassy atmosphere.

So, it's not that I've ever had a problem with the appearance of Christmas in Beijing, but in appropriate places - Western haunts, hotels, markets, shops, even on the street. But fronting the forecourt of the Worker's Stadium, an icon of the people of China, a historical gathering point of the people of an atheist state? It just feels odd.

In fact, to me, it's almost sacrilegious - not to Christmas, but to China. It kind of feels wrong. China has it's own beautiful, time-honoured celebrations; to see it plonk a tree in that forecourt... it's just so glaring that it smacks of naught but commercialism. Commercialism in itself is okay, but when it stands alone, with no spirit or ideology to support it... well. It's a glaringly sticky sight indeed.

For me, I want China to remain pure and unsullied by the commercial side of Christmas. I want it to be like our first Christmas in the capital, when the Chinese would smile and wish us a merry Festive season and perhaps join us for a drink or a piece of Christmas cake or a story about the heart behind this Christmas festival.

I want the Chinese to know this important time of year is more than just trees and baubles and buying presents and Santa Claus and how much money they can make from this laowai obsession.

I want them to know the uplifting ideology and emotion we share at Christmastime, just as we have joined in and celebrated the festivals of China. Not just the mooncakes, but the stories behind the mooncakes and how lady Cheng'e flew up to the moon and why the little rabbit in the moon is so lonely. Not just the hong bao but the importance of togetherness during Spring Festival... to know each person is one part of a large family. All that.

The world is indeed getting smaller, and it's a joy to blend and share our cultures and traditions, but it's also of vast importance to keep hold of the essence and history of our respective countries. Hence, when we get back to Beijing in the new year, I know I'll still be cringing at that tree in the Worker's Stadium forecourt.

Change is good, China, but don't go a-changin' too much. Oh - and Happy Christmas.

First published on the City Weekend Beijing website.

Jolly Old St Nick

As of this blog post, it’s only a short time until Santa sneaks into Beijing, his sack stuffed with splendid treats for good little boys and girls. Lucky the Good Children List has now gone on the world wide web, otherwise how on earth would Santa know how to find expat kids living in Beijing?

Santa appears to many Western kids in a red, fur trimmed suit bursting at the seams, but this image is a relatively new incarnation. The modern day version of the jolly Santa Claus who whisks across the star-sprinkled skies in his sleigh, is believed to be an amalgamation of images brought to life in the early 19th Century. Writer Clement Clarke Moore in The Night Before Christmas described Santa dressed from head to foot in fur, with a jelly belly, cherry-like nose and a beard white as snow. He also gave Santa eight reindeer (can you name them all? answer below) and even devised his chimney deliveries.

Forty-one years later, in 1863, caricaturist Thomas Nast developed his own version of Santa, giving him a long white beard, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that Santa morphed into the ubiquitous red suit-wearing fellow we know today, thanks to a Christmas ad campaign by Coca Cola who dressed Santa in his jolly red and white uniform.

Worldwide, the origins of Santa Claus are said to come from the Patron Saint of Giving known as St. Nicholas. Traditions and customs surrounding Sinter Klaas (the original Dutch Santa) have shifted and changed over the centuries. In England, he is known as Father Christmas, in Greece he’s Hagios Nikolaos. In Japan, it’s Santa no ojisan and in Morocco he is Black Peter. In Russia he is called Grandfather Frost, in Brazil and Peru it’s Papa Noel and in France – Père Noël.

In Italy, Santa is known as Babbo Natale, and an old woman – La Befana – also leaves gifts for kids on January 5. Germans know Santa Claus as Saint Nikolaus, however, children receive presents from Christindl, the Christ Child. Likewise, for many Latin American countries, el Niño Jesus leaves presents for good boys and girls. In Peurto Rico, kids receive gifts from the Three Kings. In Scandanavian countries, presents are brought to children on Christmas Eve by Julenisse – tiny magical creatures who bring good luck. In Australia, where Christmas lays smack bang in the sweltering heat of summer, Santa wears swimming trunks, drinks beer and goes surfing.

Whatever your nationality or beliefs, Shengdan Laoren and his red suit champions the true spirit of Christmas – a time to give back, to share, to spread peace and bring joy. We do this through food, through merriment and gift-giving. We do this through coming together. And kids… by being good!

To quote Mr. Moore - happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

If you would like to write to Santa directly at his workshop in the North Pole, here is the address. And yes – it is really, truly the official address of the man in red. Jiàndé.

Mr and Mrs Claus
96930 Artic Circle
Finland
Phone: 0011 35 8 16 36 2255
Fax: 0011 35 8 16 36 2007

A footnote for skeptics – a little bit of faith goes a long way… “ Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”.

Read more about the origins of Santa at the Santa FAQ Page.

Do you know your reindeer?

Now Dasher! now Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On Cupid! on Donner and Blitzen!
And let’s not forget Rudolph…

First published on the beijingkids website.

Garden Books Reading - Riley and the Sleeping Dragon

30 November 2008

Garden Books

Beijing

We had a lovely book reading for Riley and the Sleeping Dragon at the sunny Garden Books in Beijing.

The kids listened intently to the story then did a great job answering some tricky questions in order to win a prize!

We also had a book signing and a lovely chat with the kids.

Many thanks to Echo, Sophia and the whole Garden Books gang!

Garden Books continue to stock both Riley and the Sleeping Dragon and Beijing Tai Tai in their Beijing and Shanghai stores. Drop in and pick up a copy! Just click their logo above for address details.

Special thanks to my supportive book sponsors...

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