CNY - now and then

It's Chinese New Year's Eve and suddenly I wish I'm at my parents' place. For 4 years in a row now, I haven't celebrated the occasion properly. I triedl to create some festive mood in the house by putting up CNY decorations, flowers and some festive snacks on the table. As I am writing this, I'm listening to Yes 93.3Fm. If not, it just doesn't feel like CNY. Louisa will be going to her friend's house for a playdate after school and I really have no idea what to cook tonight. We had the reunion dinner (steamboat) on Sunday. I love steamboat here because the weather's cold. Will visit some friends and invite some mummies over during half-term break. That's about it I guess.

What I really liked about celebrating CNY before I got married was my dad would decorate the house with many festive decorations, buy seasonal flowers from the nursery to display at the car porch, big shopping trip to stock up goodies and buy new clothes/shoes. It really felt like NEW year. We always had steamboat for the reunion dinner and my mum never failed to prepare us a new set of pyjamas. It was also the time to meet up with friends and relatives whom we sometimes see only once a year. CNY was one of my favourite festival and I had such fond memories of it.