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Monday 23 December 2013

The Great Aussie Christmas!

It's getting close now and the fat bloke is going to be creeping into our houses and leaving gifts for all the kids! Last year I got a lot of comments on how odd it was to have Christmas in Summer, well not for us on the southern side of the hemisphere. Anyway I thought I would share how we spend Christmas.

A great Aussie tradition is the Carols by Candlelight, local places hold these events in the lead up to Christmas and each state has a huge one in the city on Christmas Eve. We only go to the local ones as having kids up till 1 am isn't going to make my Christmas Day special.

The kids get up and sing their hearts out here is Elizabeth a few years ago. She's the one on the end, sorry REALLY bad phone photos (wasn't blogging back then)


The kids love it, the entire event is free, put on by local companies and charities, as well as the singing other free entertainment includes, face painting, lollies (candy), icypoles, (because it s usually hot) and BBQ plus drinks.

Elizabeth was so upset when we had to wash this off!

Christmas Eve we like to walk around the local streets seeing the light displays, then back home to get the kids off to bed but not before they prepare a fresh fruit platter for Santa (the guy eats way too much sugar) and a beer, because it's way too hot to be leaving milk out! Also remember that Santa comes here first so if he brings the wrong gift let the kids know that's because we ply him with booze before he goes back to the cold and snow of the Northern Hemisphere.

Then it's time for the gifts to be put out and Jule's and I enjoy a few drinks with Santa before he goes on his way.

Christmas Morning is all about running around outside in your PJ's sharing with all the kids in the neighbourhood what Father Christmas brought. Sunnies are a must! Actually from about 6 am you can hear kids shouting out to each other while ringing bells on new bikes and remote controlled toys zooming along the streets.


Many of us eat outdoors if it's not too hot, lunch is always the main meal on Christmas day. While we generally stick to the traditional English Christmas lunch many ofus add an Aussie spin by cooking it on the BBQ, it saves the house from heating up.


After lunch, it's time for some backyard cricket or if you're lucky enough to have a pool or live near the beach it's off for a swim. The little piece of paradise is on my Mother in Law's front door step. Julian thinks it's why I married him. (It wasn't, but it sure didn't hurt his luck!)


Then with the sun beaming through the window, we chill out with the A/C on full then it's an early dinner of left overs, if anyone can eat after lunch. Then an early bed time for the kids (not going to lie, I am rarely up after 9pm on Christmas Day).

As you can tell there's no snow or sledding so here's our own version of Jingle Bells.




 Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoyed a look into a true blue Aussie Christmas! I'm going to be off the blog over the Christmas Period, after that I will be posting sporadically over January while the kids are on Summer holidays. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!



Mel xo

19 comments:

  1. Love your pics and your Christmas is basically the same as ours in South-Africa - lunch = main meal, usually outdoors, swimming etc !

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  2. How fun Mel! Your table looks lovely. Did you make the placemats? I often think it would be lovely to have hot weather so the kids could play with there new toys out doors. (We got Jacob a bicycle and I hope he gets a chance to ride it sometime in the next couple of months!) Loved the video.

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  3. I love reading about your Christmas traditions, Mel. Have a great Christmas!

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  4. I loved reading how you spend and enjoy Christmas. So different than I do but I love it all just the same. I love the idea of kids being able to run outside and visit with neighbors delighting in their new toys, riding bikes and racing cars. So sweet. We are all nestled inside our warm houses here. I hope you enjoy your break, your drinks with Santa and time with your lovely family. See you in 2014 my sweet friend.

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  5. This was so interesting Mel. So cool to see how you guys celebrate.
    Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

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  6. I always wondered about Christmas in the summer time!

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  7. I lived in Florida for 18 years. I loved warm Chrsitmases. :) LOVED them. Did I mention I loved them? :)

    Merry Christmas to you and your nice family, Mel!

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  8. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mel. Love how you celebrate Christmas! Love the warm weather this time of year. That's why we always try to get away around this time. Usually it's right before Christmas but this year we decided to go a little later to see the whales in Cabo San Lucas. . My crafting and blogging will be on hold for a bit while I rejuvenate. Have a wonderful holiday!

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  9. How truly intriguing, Mel. Have a wonderful and magical Christmas with you family, in the sun, at the beach, enjoying cold beverages, soaking up the rays... ;)

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  10. How wonderful Mel! I love seeing how you celebrate. Not sure I could handle a Christmas without snow though, but I'd sure love to give it a try... at least once anyway. Merry Christmas!

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  11. This is your best post ever! We all had such fun seeing how you spend your Christmas day. Invite me! Merry Christmas to you and all your family. A special suck up to your MIL in case I'm ever there. LOL

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  12. Merry Christmas Mel. I hope you don't have the hot day we're expecting. It's finally cooling down now but it's thrown my whole preparation out of wack. The kids are off to bed early tonight which will mean very early wake ups (5am) which I'm hoping will be ok. I've cooked everything today so I'm really looking forward to our cold christmas lunch (minus the seafood) tomorrow. All I have to do tomorrow is make the punch and make the ice-cream in the Thermomix and then I get to relax. I'm going to bed early to. See you after the school holidays.

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  13. Fab post Mel, love reading how you celebrate - nothing like us Brits, but brilliant! Love how the kids share their joy and swimming on Christmas - just perfect! There are some crazy peeps in our town who take a boxing day dip in the sea, brrr! (It is for charity though).

    Have a fantastic Chrimbo with your fab family and I'll catch up with you in 2014!

    Take care, Estelle xx

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  14. What a wonderful Christmas you guys have. Love all the pics! How awesome you can eat outside at such a beautiful festive table that you created! Merry Christmas to you and your family Mel. Cheers.

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  15. Merry Christmas Mel!!!! It's zero degrees here today!!!!

    xoxo
    -andi

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  16. Icypoles on Christmas. YUM! I love it. Have a wonderful day with your sweet family, Mel! Love ya lots!

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  17. Merry Christmas Mel! Hope its a nice day down there for you. Humid up here today but a bit of a breeze blowing. Catch you in the new year.

    Anne xx

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  18. I'm here now to wish you a Happy New Year. :)

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, between housework and 5 kids, this is the only thing I get out of bed for ;)

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