This post is an introduction to our 8-day family trip to Barcelona, which is already being published on the ODPOTUJ blog as a day-by-day travel diary.

December as a Full Dress Rehearsal

December already feels like a busy month all by itself — with school events, after-school activities, and work on top of everything else. I had planned to take three days off before the holidays, while Igor had to keep working anyway.

But of course… why would the plan actually stick and stay simple?

So on Monday I first drove the girls to school, then headed to work myself to take care of a few last-minute things. Instead of being home at the planned noon, I only made it back around 3:30.

That “delay” immediately turned into rushing, because the clock was pushing us to get Nia to swimming practice and Nara to judo. Luckily, the drive to Nara’s training takes almost half an hour each way, so Nara and Igor used that time to go over the material for a test she had the next day.

Somehow, in all that chaos, we managed to get through the day. In the evening, all that was left was wrapping the little gifts for teachers and classmates — and my quiet hope that the next two days would follow the plan in my head at least a little bit.

The Battle Plan Against the Stores (That Didn’t Work)

Even though I had a carefully crafted battle plan to gracefully avoid the stores right before the holidays, it completely fell apart. There’s always something you end up missing.

So there I was on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., lined up outside the stores, armed with my list and a quiet hope that it wouldn’t be too crowded. Of course, I ran into quite a few familiar faces, which meant that my “quick” one-hour shopping trip ended up taking twice as long.

Tuesday was all about big preparations for Wednesday’s dinner. Since there were more than twenty of us, it was clear the cooking wouldn’t take care of itself, and certainly not if we left it all for the last day.

Christmas Dinner and the People Who Are Family

Christmas dinner is our reserved time for the people we love. So it’s not just our immediate family sitting around the table, but also our friends. There’s a saying for that kind of family: family not by blood, but by heart.

In other words, people who don’t share our last name, but who do have a permanent seat at our table. And in our case, that’s absolutely true.

The day itself passed in a familiar mix of things: a little cooking, a little answering work emails and calls — all at the same time. A perfect pre-holiday kind of chaos, plus the usual drive to get Nia to swimming practice.

December 24th — My Favorite Day

And in the blink of an eye, December 24th arrived, the day that is closest to my heart out of all the days of the year.

The girls were finishing their last day of school for the year, Igor was wrapping up work, and I was putting the final touches on Christmas dinner. Dada set up the firehouse tables. Yes, really. Because of how many people we have, dinner at our place actually happens at two firehouse-style tables in the living room, which we try to dress up as festively as possible.

And finally, 5 p.m. arrived. Guests started showing up — some right on time, some fashionably late, entirely as expected.

For the first time, it all passed without stress or my usual bad mood. Everything felt simple… and a little magical. Maybe because someone very dear to me joined us for the first time with her two children, along with my mom’s friend Jožica. The two of them have been friends since first grade, which by my math makes that about 58 years — a long time and a beautiful friendship.

It was truly wonderful to spend the evening surrounded by people who make you realize you’ve hit the jackpot with your humans. Each of them is special in their own way, and together they create a kind of warmth that makes you feel incredibly lucky.

The kids happily prepared milk and cookies for Santa, who later left gifts for everyone. Slowly, the guests headed home, the house grew quiet, the girls quickly went to bed, and the two of us kept cleaning until about 1 a.m. — tired, but happy.

Holiday Pace, Viruses, and Home Alone

The rest of the holiday days passed in the blink of an eye.

We spent Christmas at home, and I mostly avoided cooking — aside from boiling some potatoes — the rest was leftovers from the day before, which absolutely counts. The day moved slowly, mostly spent on the couch, because Nara woke up with a cold.

I immediately went into full anti-virus mode, hoping it wouldn’t turn into anything worse and that our plans for Barcelona would stay intact.

And in the evening, the classic of all classics: Home Alone, all of us wearing matching pajamas that Santa had brought. If that’s not holiday perfection, I don’t know what is.

Neighbors, Eskimos, and the Garage

Next came our pre–New Year’s gathering with the neighbors in our garage. We’re really lucky — we all get along so well.

A small spread of food, the firehouse tables again, everyone dressed like Eskimos, mulled wine, homemade treats, and American pancakes for the kids. More food and drinks than we could possibly need, since everyone brought something. Maybe we should do it again just to use it all up.

Nara was already feeling much better — just enough for me to breathe a little easier. Of course, Igor ended up with an eye infection. Honestly, it never ends.

The Pharmacy, the Suitcases, and the Holy Trinity

Because I had basically been feeding Nara and Nia vitamins non-stop, our supply ran out quickly. So off to the pharmacy we went — eye drops for Igor, and then even a visit to the urgent care clinic for antibiotic drops.

Luckily, Saturday was a regular working day.

After lunch we started packing and realized it was going surprisingly fast. What took the most time was actually putting together our traveling pharmacy.

The holy trinity is packed. We can finally close the suitcase with a clear conscience.

On the Starting Line

To top it all off, Home Alone 2, wrapped in blankets and pajamas, and then no more fuss — straight to bed.

Igor says he has everything ready…

Now we’re all set, ready for new adventures.

❓ If you’re planning a trip to Barcelona, we’ve gathered practical answers in one place: Barcelona with family – questions and answers .