Spending Christmas in Argentina has a very different atmosphere than many cities in the Northern Hemisphere.

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In Argentina, the atmosphere is a bit different… First, December is in the middle of summer in here and it is very hot, humid and sunny. Second, the city is very quiet as everyone is travelling for summer vacation.

Many people prefer to get out of the city and head towards the beaches near Buenos Aires (like in Punta del Este of Uruguay or Mar del Plata, Argentina) or south to Patagonia to enjoy more temperate climates (like in Bariloche or Calafate, Argentina).

This year I have tried my best to get in the spirit by decorating my apartment with Christmas decorations that I have purchased at various supermercados (supermarkets). I have had the best luck finding decorations in the larger supermercados, for example Easy or Carrefour.

On Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), my friends, family and I, will have our own Christmas Eve celebration on the patio of my apartment building or my parents house. Many apartments in Argentina have common areas that you can reserve for parties and Christmas Eve presented a perfect opportunity to utilize it!

One of the best parts of any holiday is the food that comes with it – and Argentina is no exception! It’s common to have a large meal for Christmas Eve and for Christmas Day as well. With large families, one meal may be spent with one side of the family and the second meal with the other. Here in Argentina an asado is a popular choice, although the meal that is prepared may vary from family to family.

After dinner on Christmas Eve, we like preparing something we call “Lemon Champ” which is Lemon ice cream mixed with champagne, as we wait for the 12 am celebration! Once the clock ticks 12 am, we all have a toast and scream “ Feliz Navidad! “. The kids get excited as we open all the presents that same night.

Later in the night we plan to go to one of the many boliches (night clubs) in Jesus Maria, my town. Many begin to open around 3 a.m. for Christmas Eve after parties. On Christmas day many businesses are closed until late in the day. Therefore my friends and I plan on nursing our wounds from the night before by exchanging small gifts and spending time by the pool to escape the heat!

Merry Christmas from Argentina! 

Vicky Fallótico

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