we spent the day before christmas in the city absorbing some holiday decorations at the casino. what? it is summer here remember? and therefore does not get dark until 10PM. a casino is the only place that is always dark no matter what time of day it is. they have great christmas lights and you can go when the kids are actually awake to see them.
clover rallied a bit longer in the heat so we followed the light show with hot chocolate ice cream. of course.
new traditions for me? a casino and ice cream for christmas. i really need to plan a little better next year.
christmas eve was a different story. i made sure i was on track with the magic at our house. we put out the reindeer food in the front yard.
and we tracked santa online with my blackberry. the excitement from gemma was palpable and heartwarming. i ate it up. it delivered the christmas spirit i was missing deep inside. someday i will tell gemma of the gift she gave me.
unfortunately that same enthusiasm woke her at 6ish the next morning and in turn we were all up (early!) for presents.
and then coffee (that right there folks is parental dedication on my part…coffee AFTER presents.)
and playing
and entertaining
for which the small couch circus monkey was justly rewarded by his grandparents bearing christmas presents.
christmas number two in australia for us has come and gone. i no longer have to pretend that it is winter and i have a whole new year to work on trying to make this backwards upside down schedule of seasons work for me.
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I’m finding it strange enough doing an Ex-pat Christmas in the same hemisphere, I can’t imagine how strange it must feel to be doing Christmas in a different season! I suppose it must feel like back to normal for your husband???
Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day, Rachel! Thanks for sharing your new traditions from the Southern Hemisphere….
You will develop new Christmas traditions. I grew up in South Australia but my parents are from the UK. I now live back in the UK too.. So growing up my parents used to talk of the things they missed from UK winter Christmases e.g. wrapping up warm, mulled wine.. basically winter feels like Christmas.. Now I live in the UK they are the things I love including the big City Christmas Lights like you mentioned but there are things I miss from the Aussie Christmases of my youth. I miss the Adelaide Christmas Pagent which hails the arrival of Father Christmas in the city (all the Christmas Decs go up in the city at the same time), I miss outdoor 'Carols by Candlelight' concerts where you take a picnic and as the sun goes down everyones light candles and sings under the stars.. Family Christmas get togethers involve bbqs and swimming pools and that's pretty cool. In Adelaide, one town Lobethol goes crazy witht the Christmas lights and it's pretty magical to go and see… My parents adapted their Christmas to suit the climate, Christmas dinners involved more seafood and less heavy foods, we were more likely to have pavlova and trifle than have a figgy pudding.. You mentioned Gemma helped you rediscover your Christmas spirit .. You've got it in one, kids are the key to a good Christmas no matter where in the world you are.. Have a wonderful New Year x x x x
sounds like a lovely christmas even if it is "backwards"
Oh, Rachel. That umbrella clothesline is the best! Merry Christmas.
Oh gosh, Gemma's little washing line? That is so brilliant!
It's weird, my nephew is now 13 so we have no kids about believing in Santa until either myself or my brother have kids. This is the first year that I really wanted there to be a kid in the family to do all the fun Santa stuff. So for now I'll just have to enjoy the (rather brilliant) Reindeer food and the (equally as wonderful) smiles and happy kid faces on your blog. Such lovely photos! So thanks for sharing!
I didn't even take photos this year, what a scrooge!
oh kieran! his pictures melted my heart.
!
I have to get that "who are these kids and why are they calling me "Mom"" mug for my mom. since she says it 8 times a day
Love that last picture. I'm sure it is just wonderful for your husband's parents to be able to share Christmas with you. I can imagine it is tough for you though.
Oh! Your Christmas looks very merry! How wonderful that grandma and grandpa were there!
Thank you for sharing your morning.
Beautiful.
I love the photos. It must be very weird to have christmas in summer!
I know what you mean by the ''the best gift is one that could never be wrapped' I found out my 3rd nephew was going to be born tommorow 2 MONTHS early!!. I am on Flickr by the way http://www.flickr.com/photos/just_sean_and_justin...
I love this photos!
my favorite image is the one with the grandparents : ) the look on their faces melts my heart
Glad you found the Christmas magic in the end! We've just had our third Christmas in Australia and found it the best one yet! It definitely takes time to get used to Christmas in the summer, but it does slowly get easier. I'm sure your new traditions will be even better next year!:) Thanks for sharing!
Cari
ahhhh what a great blog you have! and your photos are to die for!!!!!!!
gorgeous twinnies! I think you were in the EB group for a while when I was pg with my twinnies then we moved to sydney!
I'll be back and adding you to my favourites now!
corrie:)
thanks! glad you found the blog.