This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

Dec 25th, 2:30pm

This Christmas has actually been one of the best I’ve ever had. Not just that I’ve had amazing weather (today it’s like 28C), but I spent it with amazing people. Everything has been perfect!

This morning I woke up at 8am. My hostdad picked up the grandpa and as soon as they got here soon thereafter it was time to unwrap the gifts. First everyone got their stocking and oh my god! Back home we get like one gift to open on Christmas Eve morning and the rest of the gifts are to be opened in the evening. But this stocking (the boy panicked about it yesterday because I didn’t have one and then got super relieved when they found an extra) was full to the limit with a lot of gifts! Some wrapped, some not.

Then we started handing out the gifts from under the tree and everyone got a lot of gifts. I was too occupied to be able to pay all my attention on the extremely happy and excited kids, haha. But I saw their faces when they opened mine and they loved them. The girl got a soap and body lotion from Bath & Body Works. The boy got Lego Minecraft and gave me several hugs after he opened it. They also got a book each from Sweden. The girl got one of the best selling youth books right now, I hope she can read it in Swedish. And the boy got a map book. I didn’t have a chance to take a look at it, but I don’t think it was a normal map book.

My hostparents got a giftcard to the movie theatre. And I said that it was included that I would take the kids that night, if they have time to do it before I leave that is. They liked it :).

And then to the gifts I got. I’m not sure what was in the stocking and what was under the tree.

• A bag of skittles and regular M&Ms
• A Ghiradelli peppermint bark chocolate bar, and two small bags with peppermint bark and caramel flavors
• Neon colored pens
• A Christmas tree ornament with palm trees and San Diego written on it
• Three lipbalms
• A peppermint scented anti-bacterial handgel
• A beautiful heartshaped sterling silver necklace
• A soap scented with lemon verbera
• A scarf
• Fluffy socks
• Tiny Victoria’s Secret perfumes
• Two notepads
• Cute cupcake cups
• $25 from grandpa with a very sweet text in the card
• $100 cash from the family with also a very sweet text in the card
• And a Rainbow Loom of my own and two extra bags with blue and yellow rubberbands

I wasn’t expecting that many gifts and I feel so Swedish when I think that it was way too nice of them! I told them thank you so many times and that I’ve had one of the best Christmases ever this year. Not because of the gifts, but because of everything they’ve done for me. The super delicious dinner last night, the thankful-speeches, the cute card they wrote to me and all the small things they do to make me feel part of the family.

But I can’t help but feel sad at the same time. I only have three more weeks before Hawaii and I don’t wanna leave them.

After the gift opening we had a nice breakfast with Swedish Christmas ham, cinnamon muffins and rice pudding. And after that I spent the rest of the morning playing with the kids’ new things. Well, mostly with the boy because the girl got a Kindle I read on it. I played with Pokémon cards, but I think until next time I have to learn the real rules so I and the boy can play for real. His rules didn’t make any sense, haha.

Then we played together with my hostdad a game called Slamwich wich is a card came where you’re supposed to slam the pile in the center when different types of cards come up. It was very fun but can go on forever, haha!

It felt a little bit wrong leaving the amazing Christmas feeling in the house, but I was gonna go to Starbucks and Lovisa for a Christmas coffee (like a lot of other people too apperantly). I gave her my gift, three body/hand lotions from Bath & body Works and a tiny anti-bacterial handgel with Gingerbread scent. I knew she loved that scent.
Since it was Christmas I didn’t take anything non fat and I had whipped cream on my Caramel Brulée Latte. It felt good. And since it was so warm we sat outside for 1.5h just talking. It was very nice!

Back home where the kids were playing with all their new things. My hostmom was sitting on the floor looking through all the after-Christmas sales. I showed her what Chad got me last night and I am starting to think that he wasn’t joking about the emeralds, diamonds and white gold… He gave me a beautiful palm tree necklace and told me not to forget San Diego. How could I??

But my Christmas isn’t over yet. Now I’m heading over to Chad’s family to spend the afternoon with them.

Dec 26th, 10:30am

Now the whole Christmas is over and it was truly a magical Christmas. At Chad’s parents place we had apple pie and I got two gifts. I wasn’t expecting that at all. From his parents I got another scarf and from his grandparents I got three body lotions from Bath & Body Works. They really didn’t have to do that, but it was very sweet of them to think of me.

Later on Chad took me for a drive in their four-wheel thingy. It went fast, like 50mph, my eyes were runny and my hair all tangled up. It was fun, but I got a little nauseated after, haha.

I also got it confirmed that it was real gemstones in the necklace. I’ve never gotten anything that nice before and I feel a little bad for only giving him Björn Borg underwear… I don’t think jewelry is as expensive here as in Sweden though, but still. It was very sweet of him and I really love it. And it matches my tattoo :).

I can’t believe it is already over. Two days of Christmas was gone before I knew it. The next big thing is New Years and I have no idea what to do then!

Our simple but pretty Christmas tree. The world’s best hostfamily gave me all this ❤