New photos posted, check the link on the left!

I think one of the cool things about being in a new place for Christmas is that I really get to see which bits of tradition and celebration I seek out. Sadly, I have no motivation to make our home festive, since I'll be home to enjoy the decor at mom and dad's house, but I did get to put up and decorate the FS Christmas tree today. I hung garland and attempted to hang a few strands of Christmas lights. Last weekend a group of us went on the Christmas tour of Belfast Castle. Their decorations were scarce, and most of the castle/big house is now meeting rooms, but the views are amazing and it was nice to get geared up for a special event. Plus, there was complimentary tea, coffee and mince pies. After our tour we took over the courtyard for my Christmas photo shoot (in an attempt to get a "cute belfast photo") and then just went a bit nuts. It was good fun. Then on Sunday, 10 of us gathered at F's home to bake Christmas cookies. We had so many cookies, and they were all amazing. We rotated our cookies through the ovens and ate cookie dough and bumped elbows and watched Riverdance.

To top it off, tonight B had a concert for the Christian Firefighter's Association. It was mostly a carol sing, with bits of the Christmas scriptures and a brief Christmas message. It was a really refreshing night.

Yea for Christmas, more fun to come :)