"You're All I Want For Christmas....."

"You're all I want for Christmas...."

Christmas costume, that is!

That Christmas song has been playing on my mind lately. It's because the season of the year has come again when my friends and I had to decide on our theme for our annual Christmas party!

Last year, 2013, was an easy one: ugly sweater Christmas party. The year before that, 'wear your Christmas carol'. I think it was easier thinking about a Christmas carol, than decorating a sweater.

Over the years, my friends here in Seoul found ways to really enjoy our time here in Korea. After all, being expatriates living away from our home countries, we all have each other for support, friendship and...fun!

I guess, all this time, my own creativity was tested (and pushed!) by these themed parties. From our Jimi Hendrix party, Oscars' Movie Night and one of the most fun ever, our super heroes and villains Halloween party.  

And sometimes, it was a relief when the theme was easy like Ruth's summer Hawaiian party or the Purple Valentine party.

                                  (Bungeo-ppang!)

We decided that our theme for 2014 would be Christmas movie characters. Well, it was easy to be Santa Claus or one of his elves. But since there are only a handful of movies about Christmas, we extended it to non-Christmas movies. 

                                             (Keran-ppang!)

I decided that my costume would be from a Christmas movie; I thought it would be easier. Plus, I know where I could source my costume or its accessories. Dongmyo's toy alley is always reliable for this, and the adjacent area of Dongdaemun Station has lots of shops where you can find unique accessories for a costume. I now know this Dongdaemun area very well. I love it there; the food stalls sell yummy goodies at cheaper prices, plus these are made by Korean ajummas who are the best at what they cook.

 (Found this dakkoyaki stall on the street! I had to get some!)

I wandered around the Dongmyo toy alley and the Dongdaemun Station area for a couple of weekends, not only to look for my costume, but also to enjoy some keran-ppang (bread with a whole cooked egg inside), bungeo-ppang (fish bread with red bean paste inside) and mandu (dumplings)! I couldn't believe a dish of six bite-sized mandu sells only for KRW1,000! I ordered three for take-out! Or was it four? Ha-ha-ha!

Not only is this place a bus ride away from where I live. This place is full of mom-and-pop shops, which I'd rather patronize .

After roaming for two weekends, I was finally able to assemble my Christmas party costume. Actually, looking for a costume in that area was just an excuse to visit. Ha-ha-ha! The Christmas costume seemed secondary. My tummy was the priority. Ha-ha-ha!

Now, I am ready for the party! I'm not sure if I have the guts to share in this blog how I'll look like in my Christmas movie character costume. Ha-ha-ha!

And just because I finally found my costume doesn't mean I have to stop humming this jingle. I like that classic!

"You're all I want for Christmas... All I want my whole life through...."