Christmas & Boxing Day

The shenanigans of Christmas Eve caught up with me—the perfect trifecta: I caught the bug Cedar had fought off last week, drank too much champagne, and definitely didn’t get enough sleep. It definitely wasn’t my finest Christmas morning…

Still, both Sheila and I rallied (alright, Sheila rallied), and Cedar woke up to the magical discovery that Santa had indeed found our little apartment in Saas Fee. A few small presents sat waiting under our perfectly miniature Christmas tree, and—equally surprising—the cookies, milk, and lone carrot for Rudolph had all vanished. Clear evidence of a successful visit by the big man himself.

I managed to get through stockings and presents, and even made (but didn’t eat) a pan of bacon before admitting defeat and crawling back into bed, trying to sleep off the dreaded man cold.

Sheila and Cedar, however, weren’t about to let Christmas Day go to waste. They headed out for a few runs on the mountain—yes, snowboarding on Christmas Day—as well as some sledding, glühwein, and hot chocolate. Not bad at all. By the time dinner rolled around, I was feeling a bit more human, and we made our way to Don Ciccio’s to wish the Barbiero family a Merry Christmas and enjoy a cozy holiday dinner.

I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one feeling rough from the night prior. I think the karaoke (and maybe the wine) had done a number on both Ina and Andrea. Gabriele—who had left the party early to sing in the church choir, then hit up the nightclub, and was back singing again on Christmas morning—was looking surprisingly chipper. Oh, to be twenty-something.

We do love our time here celebrating Christmas, but want to send a heartfelt Merry Christmas from Switzerland to all our friends and family back home. We love you and miss you!

Boxing Day Boarding & Berliners

Boxing Day was just as full. We squeezed in another boarding session—Cedar’s confidence is sky-high after his week of lessons and conquering his first red run. It’s incredible to watch him gain independence (and also speed).

Later in the day, we met up with Angelo and Jasmin for a spin around the outdoor ice rink. It was great to connect and get a little window into her family’s Boxing Day tradition: a skate and a “Berliner”—a warm, jelly-filled doughnut. Not bad at all.

Afterward, we picked up one last pizza from Don Ciccio’s and headed back for a quiet night of packing and cleaning up the apartment before the next leg of the journey: back to Chernex.

Hard to believe our Saas Fee chapter has come to an end. We packed these past couple weeks to the brim, and I think my legs are begging for mercy after snowboarding almost every day. Hopefully it will have served as good practice when we swap the boards for hiking boots—pretty sure our Chernex crew has some Swiss walks lined up.

New Year’s back home in Chernex. Here we come!