{"id":11092,"date":"2015-01-07T06:36:05","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T06:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=11092"},"modified":"2015-03-07T07:38:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-07T07:38:15","slug":"christmas-dines-barn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/christmas-dines-barn\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas at Dines Barn…"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Christmas can be a strange time of year for Expats. \u00a0 Many find themselves torn between having a quiet but convenient festive period in their host country – tempted by the promise of endless lie-ins, not having to worry about smuggling presents anywhere from Father Christmas (and managing to keep them out of sight), and ultimately not having to pack a mountain of gubbins into a small space to take with you anywhere (whether flying or<\/em> driving, I have recently discovered).<\/p>\n

But along with this comes the consideration that a lot of friends here (both expat and otherwise) usually also make a mass exodus at this time of year, and you can find yourself committing to a seriously quiet festive season, without any of the manic get-togethers, family parties or any of the traditions that you can’t export that make it all really<\/em> Christmas…<\/p>\n

It was whilst having a secret cry over the sprouts last Christmas morning whilst getting the feast ready for our quiet, convenient (lonely but lovely) Bavarian Christmas, that I vowed we would be spending the next Yule at home, with loved ones. \u00a0But where exactly?<\/p>\n

It was\u00a0important to find somewhere that could accommodate 7 of us (including my little sister, brother in law and small dog), that was in a nice location not too far from where we needed to be, and most importantly, could feel like a real home during Christmas week. \u00a0 And thankfully, we found it in the form of Dines Barn<\/a>, deep in\u00a0the heart of the Hampshire countryside…<\/p>\n

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a table big enough for ping pong – do click through <\/a>to have a look at more pictures of Dines Barn, the ones I took hardly do it justice…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

If I were to convert a barn, I would hope that the outcome might look like this – bright, spacious, with a fabulous kitchen, an adequate number of bathrooms, nice bedrooms and lots of storage (to hide the gubbins!). \u00a0Like Dines Barn, it would also have no immediate neighbours, so you could sing Christmas songs as loudly as you liked without bothering anyone.<\/p>\n

Little touches made it feel all the more welcoming (the owners are truly lovely folk who will leave you in peace unless you need them!) with a basket full of lovely things waiting for us on arrival, plus milk and butter in the fridge. \u00a0White company toiletries in the bathrooms, and plenty of fixtures and fittings that were of a really high quality helped make you feel like you were trusted with a real house, rather than simply a holiday property…<\/p>\n

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Our English tree… My sister and fiance took their own tree down, drove it down and put it back up at our “home” for the next few days… #christmastree<\/a><\/p>\n

A photo posted by Emma (@bavariansojourn) on