Untraditional Holiday Celebrations

With Thanksgiving a few days away, I feel like I am in full on holiday mode. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. And for the most part my family always had a pretty traditional Thanksgiving. However, Christmas and New Year's are a little different.

After spending a Christmas in a non-Christian country (In 2002 I spent Christmas in Turkey as a junior in college with my study abroad program) Christmas isn't quite the production that it once was. This year, due to logistics it was decided my brother and I would be going to Europe at some point during Christmas break. What turned into a 6ish day trip by myself has now turned into Sarah and Jacob's Christmas European Vacation! (If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now.) 

So we leave on December 23rd for London, Bruges, and Amsterdam. We will be in London for Christmas and the Netherlands for New Years. This will be my brother's first trip to Europe. I am super excited to show him Europe and to get to know him a little better. With 9 years difference between us we lead kind of different lives. You know, he's off burning couches at college (not really, but I hear they do these sorts of things where he goes to school..) and I am working 9ish-5ish. This will be the first time in a few years that we have spent an extended amount of time together. The last time was Christmas 2007 when my family went on a week long cruise. He and I shared a shoebox of a room and we are both still alive to tell about it. Which reminds me, does anyone have any earplug recommendations???  We survived that week, so we should be able to survive 10 days in Europe right?

My mom reminded me tonight that this would be my 3rd year in Europe on New Year's . I am incredibly lucky to have done as much traveling as I have. I truly do love it. It's my hope that I can at least share a little bit of what I love with my brother and hopefully he will at least have fun.

Christmas 2002



NYE 2006
This night did not end well, but hey I was in Paris for New Year's and there were no fireworks!


Christmas 2007
I may just have to bring that sweater to wear to Christmas Tea at the Ritz. I wonder if it meets the required dress code?



Here's to 2012!

Does anyone have any must see/do/eat places in London, Bruges, or Amsterdam?