Christmas in Space: NASA Astronauts Celebrate Holidays Aboard International Space Station

Christmas has gone where no Christmas has gone before...space.

The astronauts aboard the International Space Station-members of Expedition 34-are celebrating the holidays in space, exchanging gifts, eating and enjoying their own festivities while exploring space.

NASA spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier-Lamasters told SPACE.com that the astronauts on the $100 billion space station were off duty for Christmas Eve and Christmas, which means that they don't have to work on experiments and can take as long as they like to eat.

Only last week, the crew was rounded out to its six-person capacity, with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko joining Kevin Ford of NASA, and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin as of Dec. 21.

So, what are the holidays in space like?

Well, for starters, the astronauts have a rather interesting selection for which to decorate, as an earlier expedition left the current set of astronauts a Christmas tree and stockings made from flame-resistant nomex, which are safe to have onboard.

And while Santa may not make trips to outer space, the astronauts were still able to share in the holiday sprit thanks to the Russian-based Progress 48 cargo freighter, which carried presents to the crew aboard the station so they could have all they needed for a space-style holidays.

Of course, the hardest part of being in space for some of the astronauts was the time they have to spend away from their families. That in mind, NASA has offered them a chance to hold video conferences with family members during the holidays, in addition to a Christmas dinner with turkey and candied yams.

Mashburn, who is the father of a 10-year-old daughter, is particularly thankful for the chance to speak with her while up in space.

"That'll be tough, thinking about her waking up in the morning, enjoying things," said Marshburn during a preflight interview with NASA, "but the fact is we've got some technology that'll allow me, hopefully through an internet or I guess an internet protocol session, to be able to join in with them and see their faces and they can see me. It'll be a little tough for me, as it would be for anybody, but I think the price is certainly well worth it, to be up there."