Because I am a whore for everything commercialized
November 15, 2008 
Listen up, everyone! Your enduring love for this website will finally pay off! After all these years ramblings, you will finally be rewarded.
And this is not out of the blue at all, in case that’s what you were thinking. Let me explain.
One month from today, this website will be one year old and I could just dance. That’s how grateful I am that, for once, nothing crashed or got deleted or hacked or lost. And I could cry happy tears over the fact that I will have one whole year worth of entries saved forever to look back over and show my grandkids one day (kinda getting ahead of myself here, sorry). And of course, I’ll add many more years to that. The renewal until December 2009 has already been signed. Well, not literally signed with a feather and ink but - you know what I mean.
Less than a week after hbn.com’s birthday, most of us are going to celebrate a little fest called Christmas. Now, I am not one to lecture people about how Christmas really shouldn’t be about the presents and the decorations and the food and the parties, mostly because I am a whore for everything commercialized myself. It’s my only flaw (ha!), I can’t help it. To me, Christmas especially is all about giving something nice to those who deserve it or need it the most and having good food and a Christmas tree and Santa Claus and reindeer and Christmas markets everywhere.
So. I have decided to celebrate this blog’s birthday and the wonderful invention that is commercialized Christmas by thanking you guys for your amazing support over the months with a special something. This place has never been one of The Blogs but over the past few weeks unique hits numbers have been soaring. Most importantly, I still have as much fun doing this as I had on day one and that is to no small amount because of your always witty comments.
As I have confessed to you, my only flaw is the fact that I tend to fall hopelessly for free gifts and pretentious glamour and flashy lights and disturbing sweetness and spread-the-love. Especially during the dark season when shopping makes me much happier than it should. But that’s a different issue.
This time it’s not about me. It’s about you. (I don’t think I can ever write that last sentence again without hearing Barack Obama proclaim it to a cheerful crowd.)
It’s about you! Commence to rejoice, everyone.
It’s The Season and The Economy is tough and so, to lighten up the mood and make you smile - come on, everyone smiles when they get mail, I will send sexy, delicious German chocolate and a sweet little note to every single person* who has any interest in this. And maybe tells people on the street about this website so that next year I don’t have to beg for someone, anyone, to please take a gift from me but have visitors beg me instead?
Well, that’s rather sad, isn’t it?
But truth be told, I am prepared for this to totally fail because people couldn’t care less about chocolate they can just as well buy at their local grocery supplier. To those, I say this, though: Wal-mart may sell you what they say is German chocolate but in nine out of ten cases (this is an official, scientific study - sure) the chocolate is not produced overseas which means it is not at all as awesome as chocolate should be.
Side note: I am aware that Norwegian chocolate (and possibly Swiss) is even better than the German kind. But hey, this is me, this is Germany, this is our chocolate and it is good all I can offer. No, it honestly is much better than most other chocolates in the world.
Just leave me a comment and you’ll get your original German chocolate for Christmas! I am almost overwhelmed by how good I am at this whole spreading love and peace thing.
Just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you for shipping details (by the way, don’t fear everyone - I am way too broke to pay for the travels to come seek you out at your house and murder you in your sleep. It wouldn’t go over well with how I am all about love and peace, anyway.)
Lastly, since this is all about YOU, tell me about your typical Christmas in the comments especially if you have never or barely commented before. I love every single one of you crazies who comes here again and again and I also love those who only come once and leave for good. Frankly, during Christmas time, I love everyone.
If you want chocolate-y Christmas love coming your way, leave me some love in the comments. Seems like a very holiday spirited deal to me.
* If there will actually be more than five people commenting, woah dude!, I will randomly choose a handful of people who will be sent chocolate. After all, I’m no Pioneer Woman. Yet.
Johanna said:
I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now, I’m not really sure on how long because time fly by so fast that it’s hard to keep up, and I couldn’t resist to take you up on this offer (and with that said I hope only five people will be commenting…). It’s very nice of you to do this kind of thing even do you may be tricking us to believe that you won’t show up on and murder us while we are asleep. Kidding aside, chocolate is my drug and I would get a huge smile on my face if some chocolate will find it’s way to my doorstep :)
I almost forgot to tell you about my typical christmas. Well as far as I can remember we have always (except for one year a looong time ago) celebrated christmas at my mothers parents house. But the day start at my moms apartment where my brother and I eat bread with christmas ham on to the smell of newly baked christmas candy. After a while we all get one small gift each to open up and after that we spend some time together watching tv (not very christmasy but still).
At 3pm we go to the house where my grandparents live and I go straight to the kitchen and help my grandmother with dinner while all the others watch Donald Duck in the basement. After Donald it’s time for dinner. We eat meatballs, ham, small frying sausages, “Jansson’s temptation”, dark rye bread and other swedish national dishes. When we are all stuffed we wait. And then we wait some more. And at 6pm Santa knocks on the door! He hands out all the gifts and eat some gingerbread’s and some milk and then he goes out in the night… Now all hell breaks out, everyone opens gifts and there are voices all over the place who wants to tell what they’ve got. And then it gets comfortable quite while we take in all that has happened that night.
Later on we drink mulled wine and just hang out with each other before it’s time for everyone to go home.
Not very good explained but even though it’s the same thing every christmas, I kinda like it. It’s the only time we are all together in perfect harmony, and that’s worth a lot!
How do you spend your christmas?
Rachie said:
Well, you now how long I’ve been reading. I’m not one to read and not comment. This you also know. So of course I want some chocolate from you! When I was in Europe last I bought some Austrian chocolate. I believe it was “Mozart Chocolate”. And it was a while ago but I do think I remembering it being REALLY good.
A typical Christmas for me starts the weekend before Christmas. That saturday evening my mother’s side of the family gathers at my grandparent’s house for Christmas dinner and presents. The next party is usually Christmas eve and that is celebrated with my family’s friends. Then Christmas morning Neil and I are usually at our house and we don’t do anything but sleep in :P Christmas afternoon is spent at my dad’s parents’ house. That’s always the biggest. Lots of people on that side of the family. Of course there are about 3 other Christmas parties we attend but they are always at different times every year because they revolve around other people’s schedules. Schedules that always change. During Christmas time (which for us American’s isn’t until after Thanksgiving) I love everyone as well!
Katharina said:
@Johanna I already emailed you. :)
@Rachie Your Christmas sounds wonderful. I love how you’re going to several different “parties” and meet so much family over the holidays. My family is very small, so we don’t do much. But I’m sure I’ll blog about my Christmas some time soon… Since you mentioned Thanksgiving - that might just be why I’m starting the whole Christmas celebration so early, there’s really no holiday between Easter and Christmas here at all. I’ll email you, too, soon.
Kayleigh said:
aw this is such a cute idea. I always read your blog but I rarely comment on it :X I’m bad.
I don’t celebrate the religious aspect of Christmas but I still love the cultural aspect. I love Christmas music (in small doses lol), and the lights and the smells of all the good food and being toasty inside while the snow is pretty outside. I’ve spent Christmas in places where it never snows and the entire Christmas feeling seems to get lost. I need the snow to feel festive. But my favorite part is buying everyones gifts.
My family is really small but typically we eat a light dinner on Christmas Eve, then open presents. Then on Christmas morning we open any presents in the stockings and have a big dinner that night.