It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas...

Unlike the US, stores here don’t start playing Christmas music in October and there is no “Black Friday” that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It was actually kind of nice to not be bombarded with marketing while we were still thinking about Lydia’s Halloween costume.

At the end of Thanksgiving weekend, we decorated our apartment for the holidays. With just one living area, no outdoor lights to hang, and a nominal number of decorations to work with, the whole exercise took a fraction of the time it took to decorate our old house. We definitely have a “minimalist” theme going on this year. Even our tree is small:

But, I’m not complaining – the apartment looks festive and it was refreshingly simple. Mission accomplished.

As for the rest of Hong Kong, I don’t think “minimalist” is part of the vocabulary with regard to holiday decorations. Once December hit, it was like the gloves were taken off - shopping areas went mad with tinsel and lights. More on that in my next posting!