It's not about the loot, it's about feeling loved

[pne]

On this day that's my birthday, my True Love gave to me:

• A display made of coloured, corrugated cardboard with the digits "29" standing on a round base, and a lit candle
• 29 muffins, roughly half each raspberry-and-yoghurt and banana-and-hazelnut, to share with my family when they come by this afternoon
• Two advent calendars, one with the regular small figures and one with bigger figures inside
• Knitted, woolen bed-socks
• A flannel shirt from Lands' End
• And a partridge in a pear tree well, no, not really

I also got two birthday cards (from my ward's Elders' Quorum and from the sister missionaries), and Elaine had sent me a generous gift certificate for Amazon.de yesterday.

I was happiest about the bed-socks. Stella only recently learned to knit, and these are the first ever socks she's completed. (She started two for herself but hasn't finished them yet, and the first heel she knit for practice became part of a snake that lies in front of our window to stop the draft coming in.)

So I was touched that she had made them for me; my previous bed-socks, bless their soles, have served me well for many years but are starting to fall apart, though they've been darned several times. Sister Sparr from Pinneberg Ward hat knid them for me for my mission, so they must be about eight years old now. Stella had never made complete socks before, and she got them ready for me for my birthday, and they seem to have turned out very well indeed. A bit large, but that's not so bad since they don't have to fit into any shoes. Now I'll have to try them out to see whether they keep my feet warm and don't itch.

I also appreciated the gift of one of the Advent calendars. I'm not sure whether they have those elsewhere, so I'll describe them here.

They're a common thing in Germany: cardboard boxes with little doors numbered 1 to 24 (since most Germans celebrate Christmas with gift-giving on the evening of the 24th), which little children use to count down the days until Christmas. They mostly have little chocolate figures, generally around 1½×1 cm and perhaps 5 mm thick, but I've also seen calendars with Kinder Surprise eggs or with little Lego figures.

However, this one has little hollow chocolate figures that are larger than the little things you usually find. Stella had found this calendar several years ago in the one shop that seems to carry it and I really liked it. So I was glad that she had got it for me again this year.

Comments

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

We have them, too, though there are also ones with just little flaps that open (nothing behind them but maybe a little picture) and also ones that are meant to be reusable—my parents have one that's a wall hanging of a Christmas tree with spaces to hang 24 little ornaments on it—and arranging the ornaments just so was always a big deal when I was growing up (but the angel for the top was always the last one). Right now, just because I'm used to having one, I have a cloth one with pockets on it numbered 1-24, and a little snowman figure you move from pocket to pocket every day. I'd love to buy (but they're expensive) or make (but no time and less patience) a fancy one like my parents have.

I'm a freak though—most people prefer the chocolate. ;-)

And Happy Birthday!! I used to know how to say that in German, but I've forgotten.

advent calendars

[pne.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've seen the forms you described as well.

At home, my sister had made one for herself one year, with little crocheted pouches that she asked my mother to fill with candy. I've also seen ones of cloth or burlap with pockets, and other types.

Oh, and thank you for your birthday wishes!

As for the German, two I can think of right now are "Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag" and "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag". Was it one of those?

[gabrielascrib.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!!!

[pne.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *squee*

[pthalo]

Alles gut zum Gebortstag
Happy Birthday
Boldog születésnapot
Joyeux Anniversarie
Feliz Compleaños
Vse najboljše

[pne.livejournal.com]

Köszönöm szépen! Boldog vagyok.

[pthalo]

Es freut mich. :)

[timwi.livejournal.com]

Herzlichen Glückwunsch. :) Ich spare mir mal die ganzen anderen Sprachen, denn du kennst die Übersetzungen bestimmt selbst... :)

Du bist jetzt also 29? Dein letztes Jahr in deinem dritten Jahrzehnt hat begonnen! :)

Alles Gute. :)

A very happy birthday to you!

[jc.livejournal.com]

I got your e-mail and I'll respond to it in time, but I'll bring Radio Rampage back for the next twelve hours just for you.

[marikochan.livejournal.com]

Advent calendars are pretty common here, too. We have a sort of reusable one, that has magnet decorations and a tree so you can put up one decoration for each day; we often also have ones with little candies inside. :) Of course, being the US, they make them as crass and large as possible here...