When you live in a second- or third-tier city in China it can take a lot more time and effort to assemble those ingredients we consider essential for a proper Christmas, whether you're talking turkey, nutmeg or candy canes. My husband Ross wanted to make reindeer candy canes with our young students last year. We couldn't find candy canes in the stores, so a friend ordered some on the internet for us. We spotted the googly eyes and pipe cleaners at a market in Shanghai. I think I brought the red puffy noses with me from Canada, and voila, reindeer candy canes with four classes of children. Plus we taught them to sing The 12 Days of Christmas, of course.

This was all requested, by the way. The parents of our students—the ones who aspire to send their children abroad to finish their education—were very interested in Christmas, so we're not being cultural imperialists.

Speaking of Chinese-made Christmas decorations, it was the Chinese that gave the Western world an entirely new type of decoration: the inflatable Santa or Snowman for the front yard, which collapses into a disconsolate plastic puddle when the electricity is turned off. I prefer the colorful wedding arches that appear in our neighborhood when someone is getting married, with double happiness signs, phoenixes and dragons. I hope they catch on in Canada too!

Lona Manning is a Canadian who has lived and worked in China for three years.