Harajuku Cafe

The Christmas season is upon us once again and for some of you spending the holiday season as an expat is very much the norm but for others this may be the first Christmas away from your family and friends. For those people, their holiday routine is displaced and stress sets in, disconcerting themselves and those around them. We can all see the holiday decorations, especially since they were up well before American Thanksgiving, and the holiday music has been in full swing in the department stores and your friendly neighborhood Lotteria (but you don’t know that because no expat really eats there). People from back home have sent the emails asking why you aren’t coming home, parents and friends have sent their overseas care packages, and holiday themes are in running in every TV show you watch. All these things may actually stress people instead of comfort them. The holiday doesn’t have to disappear for you just because you aren’t home. Korea is different than home and you have to learn that how you spend your holidays here are different as well. The Harajuku Cafe would like to recommend some ways to make your holidays memorable and full of that holiday spirit that you may feel is lacking.

Follow up:

1. Have house parties
Fill your house with some people with the intent of having a holiday get together. Make sure you have the cheesy holiday music on, most notably Alvin and the Chipmunks. Put ups some Christmas lights and have a couple of holiday decorative items out. Buy a twenty buck tree off the internet and have that up until January 5^th. Make some eggnog. After drinking a bunch of that you will start to sing along with Alvin if someone remembers to bring helium balloons.

2. See the Nutcracker ballet
The classic Christmas ballet is being performed all over the country. You can get nosebleed seats in Seoul for ten bucks.

3. Get \50,000 worth of phone cards and have some of those long overdue phone calls to those special friends back home.

Yeah you email some and comment on their posts on Google+ and the other social network, but it isn’t really enough, is it? You Skype call them but the internet back home sucks big green ones (#7 on the list of what we don’t miss back home) so that call is shaky half the time. Get a bunch of phone cards and talk with those special friends, really talk like you used to when you were living near each other. Pop open a bottle of wine and talk to each other without worrying about the cost of a long distance call. You’ll be amazed at how cathartic a simple talk with a friend can be.

4. Check out the hotel dinners for Christmas dinner
The hotels tend to have decent buffet due to their clientele being people who have to travel because of their job.  I remember one year where the carver put a three-ounce portion on the plate of Van Walker. She was wondering why the six-foot, eight-inch man didn’t leave her station after being served. After ten seconds of eyeball to eyeball contact and another ten ounces of turkey, Van finally left.

5. Get a Santa cap
You don’t realize how this cheesy little thing can brighten up your whole day and your whole night as well.

6. Buy a Christmas present for a couple of your favorite service people
Everybody has their guys where they live—I’ve got my computer tech guy (7^th floor Techno World); my coffee guy (Told A Story, Eoeundong); my water guy (speed dial); my tailor (Eunhengdong); my local soopa guy; my favorite bartenders, baristas, and servers, and my mechanic. Buy something small but thoughtful. Make sure it’s wrapped because presentation is everything. Remember, in Korea you’re not a customer but someone who has a relationship with all these vendors. It’s always nice to hear “Melly Clissmasu!” from a friendly face.

7. Say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” when you greet people

“Annyonghaseyo, Merry Christmas!” will catch people’s attention. The bus driver of the little gu bus you use will turn his head when he hears that. Some people will actually try to respond in kind.

However you spend your holidays, I wish you the very best for the holiday season.