Candlelight and Christmas crackers at home...
Glittery trees and a reindeer in Marken. Click photos to view detail.
A winter wonderful under a blanket of stars in Marken.
Lights over the canals in Delft.
A string of lights reflected in another canal in Delft.
Twinkling lights in the trees and stars overhead.
A giant Christmas fir in the market square in Delft (with the gorgeous town hall as the backdrop).
A Christmas tree suspended from the ceiling at Magna Plaza, Dam Square, Amsterdam.
An upside-down Yuletide tree in Marken.
A flower-bedecked tree at a restaurant in Marken.
19th-century lights festooned with decorations and greenery.
A tree viewed through stained glass windows at the Grote Kerk in Marken.
A chandelier dripping "icicles," Amsterdam.
Christmas tree lights in a window of a house of traditional Dutch architecture, Delft.
A boulangerie filled with special Christmas breads and pastries, as well as nougat-filled snowmen and chocolate sheep.
Glitter and glimmer, Delft.
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at a shop in Delft.
Red stars topped with candles.
A design tribute to Johannes Vermeer and his painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring."
Megawatt smiles in Delft (my daughter Jordana with her friend Andrea).
A private residence in Marken, bursting with Christmas finery.
Evening light and little trees near the seafront, Marken.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
We have many blessings for which to be thankful this Christmas, our first in our new home in the Netherlands. Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays, wherever you may be celebrating. Let's hope that the path forward - into the bright, shiny new year - brings us "more light; less noise," as Abraham Lincoln said.
Dear Tara, thank you for this beautiful journey through your world at Christmastime. I love seeing how different countries decorate for the holidays -- what do the shops look like, and the town squares and the houses -- you filled that desire and so much more. I smiled at so very many photos, but none made me happier than the one where Jordana and her friend smiled back at me. Truly, that is what Christmas is all about -- being with people you love and finding the beauty wherever you are.
I've much to be thankful for in 2012, too -- and you know already that part of that is for you and David. Happy 2013 -- may be it be glorious!
Posted by: jeanie | 30 December 2012 at 18:36
Happy christmas to you lovely lady. Hoping you have had a magical time
Posted by: leonie | 27 December 2012 at 21:34
Blessings and much love to you and yours.
I loved all of your photographs and everything you share.
Love Jeanne
May 2013 sparkle and shine for us all.
Love Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne | 27 December 2012 at 14:52
Oops, Marken not Merken. Also loved Delft too. Hope to have an opportunity to see these lovely places in 2013.
Posted by: Marilyn | 27 December 2012 at 10:21
Oh I loved seeing the holiday decorations from your part of the world. I could just imagine walking through Merken or by the canal and seeing the twinkling lights or trees festive in their decorations. Let us pray for a fresh year in 2013 with less darkness and more light.
Posted by: Marilyn | 27 December 2012 at 10:20
This was magical, Tara. What a big year it has been for both of us, full of transitions and the making and leaving of homes. Stunning photographs, full of promise. I hope you had the merriest of Christmases!
Posted by: Roxanne | 26 December 2012 at 18:26