Like a lot of people, I struggle during the holidays—both financially and emotionally. It feels like every year things are stable until December hits, and then everything goes sideways. This year was rougher than any we’ve had since my husband and I moved to Córdoba City, Argentina in 2012.
Between my parents’ declining health (and their very toxic personalities) and nonstop headaches with tenants and the rental properties we own, I honestly considered canceling the holidays altogether. My husband—aka “the hubs”—has been battling his own physical and emotional slump, too.
But here’s the thing: I love the holidays. The second one ends, I’m already mentally planning the next. There was no way I was skipping Christmas this year. We just had to improvise a little.
We planned to celebrate Navidark—our own tradition blending Christmas cheer with horror aesthetics. Think “deck the halls,” but spooky. Unfortunately, two Argentine stores we usually count on for eerie décor—Ghostly Store and Kripta—didn’t deliver anything worth ordering. Even the local Halloween goldmine, Cotillón Chialvo, came up short in the ornament department when I checked for Christmas.
They promised ornaments would arrive later in the month, but a second trip just wasn’t in the cards financially.
Still, I managed to snag a few gems:
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Santa and Grinch masks
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Festive eyeglasses
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Holiday plates, napkins and straws
We love masks, goofy accessories, and taking photos together, so this accidental haul became a highlight.
Although not feeling so great, the hubs surprised me by adding a few more decorations to our living room while I was out getting some last minute supplies.
As for dinner? We went rogue—but strategically. I headed to the new KFC location at Nuevocentro Shopping in Córdoba City. Instead of a classic 8-piece bucket like last time, I ordered 11 wings and 11 chicken strips, plus:
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Popcorn chicken
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Bacon & cheddar fries
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Onion rings
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Four drinks
It cost 64,000 Argentine pesos (about $43.99 USD), and none of the online deals applied in-store. But hey—holidays, right?
Since KFC here doesn’t offer the sides we’re used to back home, we made our own American comfort classics:
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Coleslaw (using a mix and pre-made bag from JUMBO supermarket)
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Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy
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Corn
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Garlic bread—arranged into a Christmas tree shape, which actually turned out adorable
Dessert was where we really leaned into the dark side of Navidark:
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A Dirty Santa drink with rum, crushed ice, and grenadine for a splash of Christmas red
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A large brownie cake transformed into a reindeer using:
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Pretzels for antlers
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Edible candy eyes
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A cherry for the red nose
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Green icing for the mouth
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We also made reindeer donuts using pretzels and edible eyes. We tried icing for the noses, but the donuts were too warm and the icing melted. So naturally, we rebranded the runny red dot as… a bullet hole. In our version of the story, the reindeer had a tragic run-in with hunters. Festive? Yes. Horrifying? Also yes.
To complete the theme, we molded homemade peanut butter cups into brains, hearts, and skulls, using melted white chocolate tinted with red food coloring. The color was more pinkish-red than blood-red, but the results were equal parts grotesque and charming.
We had grand plans for:
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A Christmas tree-shaped pudding decorated with Rocklets (Argentina’s budget M&M cousins)
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An apple pie
But the December heat and our emotional exhaustion won this round. We postponed those ideas to New Year’s Eve instead.
To get into the holiday spirit, we kept our favorite December tradition: one Christmas movie a day leading up to the 25th. We mixed classics like Home Alone with holiday horror flicks like Violent Night. I’ll share this year’s full movie list here, and trust me—there were some unexpected surprises.
1. Black Christmas - A classic holiday horror film
2. Silent Night - This was a pretty decent holiday horror film too
3. Better Watch Out - The main kid was annoying. Never again.
4. Jingle Bell Heist - It was a Christmas Rom-Com but watchable.
5. Oh. What. Fun - It wasn't. Michelle Pfeifer needs to go back to the 90s when she was actually good.
6. The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge - The characters were dumb as fuck but Scrooge was okay.
7. My Secret Santa - Rom-com - Mrs. Doubtfire Meets the Associate
8. Krampus
9. She's Making a List --- Everything barfy that you would expect from Hallmark plus a shitty ending
10. Home Alone 2 - Decent but why couldn't Kevin help the homeless lady out?
11. The Running Man - Not a Christmas film but we needed something new.
12. A Mom for Christmas - A 90s TV classic. Sappy but a tear-jerker.
13. ATM - Scary.
14. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - It was watchable.
15. A Carol Christmas - Shitty faith based studio film. Tori sold out.
16. Dashing Through the Snow - Shitty movie that failed to be everything Violent Night was.
17. Violent Night - This helped wash away the memory of movie 16.
18. Jingle All the Way
19. The Great Flood - Technically not a Christmas movie but both mom and son were the key to restarting humanity so kind of.
20. Tinsel Town - Kiefer Sutherland in a Christmas movie and he was actually funny.
21. Elf
22. It's a Wonderful Knife
23. P2
24. While You Were Sleeping
25. The Associate
So that was our Christmas this year. It wasn’t extravagant. It wasn’t flawless. But it was ours. We made it work together—as partners, as a team, and honestly? Our love carried the magic when everything else felt heavy.
Now we just need to crack the code on New Year’s Eve. I’ll report back… in early January. Let’s just call it a cliffhanger.
Until then, I hope you all had a warm holiday season, and I’m wishing you a wonderful New Year ahead.
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