It's the last chance to make good on 2017 resolutions (if any) and wrap up any unfinished business for the year. It's December: where days are shorter and the stars, angels, and pines have found their way again on windowsills. Ah December, the last and most festive month of the calendar year. The month with just the perfectly gorgeous reds, greens, and yellows to end the year with a bang!

In Germany, it is not uncommon to find holiday wreaths (Adventskranz) being sold in shops. It is for German homes a symbolic decorative element for advent. I've never seen this throughout my 25 Christmases in the Philippines but I assume that it bears the importance Filipinos give to Simbang Gabi. This year, I picked the classic red and gold color as I find them to be fitting for the many things we are celebrating this year. Red and gold after all look especially festive and I, too, am feeling very festive myself. So last weekend, we went to shop for the things we need for our DIY Adventskranz. My husband, heavens bless his DIY soul, has a special knack for these, hence a tasteful DIY turnout.

As if to go with the mood, that very weekend we feasted our eyes on the first holiday snow. All the trees and pavement are lightly covered with glistening white cotton. The outside noise was muted. The world that we saw from the warmth of our home looked peaceful. Almost as if cottony clouds have descended on to the earth. With my husband's strong warm hands on my shoulder as I carry our sweet - sometimes surly - bundle of joy, I savored the little flame warming my heart made even warmer by watching the first snow with the loves of my life.