Christmas in Australia
Due to my Make Believe book tour, I've been super unorganised this Christmas. I don't even have my tree up yet. With only a few more days to go, the tree is probably not going to happen. This will be the first time ever that I won't have a decorated tree up for Christmas. While this makes me a sad panda, a tree does not make Christmas.
I usually spend Christmas with family and, despite the hot weather, we enjoy a hot roast lunch. The afternoon involves sitting around chatting and/or sleeping, and in the evening we gather around the dining table and play poker. We bet using one and two cent pieces, which then get returned to the coin bottle at the end of the day for another year.
If you'd like to know what I was like in high school, and other unusual things, then pop on over to Rebecca Hart's blog where she is interviewing me as part of the Make Believe book tour. I'd love to see you over there. Click HERE.
I like any form of travel that doesn't involve me behind the wheel!
ReplyDeleteI'll second that!
DeletePfft with all those exotic cruises of yours I really do not feel sorry for you not having a Christmas tree this year, missy :)))))
ReplyDeleteHope you will have lovely holidays this year, Lyndy!
Hahaha, I haven't been away for six years. I think I've earned an exotic cruise... or two ;)
Deletewell, since I haven't seen seaside in about 25 years (I went to the sea only once at the age of 5 or 6)book a ticket for me too :))
DeleteWoo hoo!! There's something special about walking up the beach as the waves wash over your feet. I even saw a sea turtle!!!
DeleteOh, how do you survive being land mammals? I don't know what I would do if I didn't live near the beach.
DeleteI live 15 min drive from the beach, but rarely have the time to visit. Um-ah.
DeleteI want to go to the South Pacific. I want to stroll that beach in your photograph and think, no troubles, no worries, just peace. Ahh...
ReplyDeleteBut in reality, I haven't had time to get my tree let alone put it up. We usually do it Christmas Eve as that's when I have a houseful of people and we do it together. When the five children were babies, it was the only chance I had. And now it's tradition. But, of course, I have to buy the tree first. Hence my first comment.
As for travelling, we drive and camp.
I've never had a live tree. No wait, I did for a few years but it remained in it's pot all year for many years until it grew too big for the room. So I've never had to make a last minute tree purchase each year.
DeleteI hope you get your tree this year.
You're absolutely right, trees don't make Christmas, family do. I love that picture of you in the window and of course you're writing. Just beautiful. Being by the beach and the water is my favorite place. Thank you for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I almost didn't share the pic. I'm such a shy lil thing.
DeleteLovely beach photo! and fun to see you too--your whole self. What cute li'l feet you have, my dear. You guys have 2-cent pieces down under? Interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteThe one and two cent pieces have long been taken out of circulation. These were just a collection of leftovers we kept for our yearly poker game.
Deletesounds & looks heavenly! i hope to make the long journey down under some day! part of my book includes a chase scene in canberra =)
ReplyDeleteCanberra would be a great place for a chase scene. You could run in circles for DAYS there ;)
DeleteMy favorite form of travel is by foot. I love to be dropped off anywhere so I can walk the places tourists don't frequent and see how people live. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteStepping off the tourist track is one of my favourite things to do when I arrive at a new place.
DeleteI like cruising. I guess I don't have a favorite way to travel. I take it any way I can get it!
ReplyDeleteHopping over to the other blog now...
I would much rather spend Christmas with palm trees than in the bitter cold.
ReplyDeleteI went on a cruise last summer, but I don't think I really got into it til the very end. I still think my favorite form of travel is just airplane. Get me there, you know?
ReplyDeleteLifou sounds like Pensacola, which used to be about 45 minutes from my house. We went there just about every weekend. Gorgeous!
Have a lovely holiday, Lynda! <3
yeah I get that. Cruising only works if you aren't in hurry to get anywhere. Cruising is all about the journey... and the cocktails... ;)
DeleteI like the idea of being alone on a boat, but I think a cruise would be uncomfortable...kind of like being stranded on an island with strangers with the added possibility of sea-sickness. Definitely not for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sounding Christmas. Being from the cold and wet UK it is wonderful to read of warmer Christmas traditions. I love your photographs.
ReplyDeleteMy Christmas will involve watching the children open their presents and then eating far more than my body can take. I then hope to spend the rest of the time relaxing, writing and reading.
Have a great Christmas.
You've described an awesome Christmas--espcially the family, eating and relaxing. Perfect.
DeleteI've always wanted to take a cruise. Maybe one of these days. It's definitely felt like Christmas has snuck up on us. I'm only now feeling like it is the Christmas season.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
Lynda, thanks for this lovely post. I told my children yesterday that when I get old, I'm going to join a cruise ship company and keep cruising til they carry me off in a box. Apparently cheaper than a nursing home and heaps more fun!!
ReplyDeleteNo tree? I hope you get one up. I finally got ours assembled (real ones make too much mess!!) and turned on the fairy lights -- I'm a fairy light freak -- and it does add that little fillip of excitement, especially when the gifts start stacking up!
Well, I guess five cent coins will be the next to go -- who ever uses those little suckers?
Anyway, dear Lynda, thanks for a great year of reciprocal blogging. I'm rooting for Make Believe and will go across and check out your link.
Thanks for this delicious post -- Happy, Blessed Christmas to you and your family!
Denise
oh, I'm a fairy light freak as well!!! We have them up in our backyard all year long, and frontyard over Christmas. The tree might not be up, but the lights are, hehehe.
DeleteBlessings to you, Denise, and have a wonderful Christmas.
Great photo! I've always wanted to take a cruise too. I'm not one for hot weather or drinking by the pool though. Only five days until Christmas. It's coming so quickly! I'm ready, though. Now I just have to keep an impatient little boy occupied through the next couple of days.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas!
We always used to have real trees, but they weren't alive as they had been chopped off their mummies. Sounds so gruesome doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteGreat post for the blog hop :) I have only travelled ONCE for Christmas, at least since I was 1 year old. ;)
Love the pic of you having fun. *turns an unbecoming shade of green* I have NEVER traveled at Christmas. With seven kids, what's the point. Ha. I always have a real tree. It's kinda like being a real boy. You just gotta! :-) Merry Christmas, Lynda!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a tree in about 3 years. My artificial was finally just to worn out to put together, and I had so few presents I decided on the "Harry Potter" type Christmas; presents at the foot of the bed on Christmas day. Presents for my kids (all grown up now) are so expensive the tree looks bare any way.
ReplyDeleteSo the one kid I have left at home gets his gifts delivered "Santa style" and the rest get money, if I can afford it. This is, however, the first year my kids have failed to decorate the outside of the house, and I'm rather bummed about it.
As for a hot lunch; I take hot food and hot showers any tie of year :)
Have a great holiday season, and post lots of pictures of your travels. I shall live through your adventures.
.......dhole
Gorgeous pictures. I'd love to visit your hemisphere. Also, I've never been on a cruise before.
ReplyDeleteI've only traveled during Christmas once. I tend to stay at home to enjoy a quiet winter break and time off.
Thanks for sharing your Christmas celebrations "down under" Lynda! I have visited Australia twice, and love it. Did I ever tell you I wanted to emigrate there? I adore cruises, but it's been years since I have enjoyed one. It sounds perfect right now...just what I need to drive away the doldrums with our cloudy, windy and rainy weather here in the Midwest. Have a wonderful Christmas holiday!
ReplyDeleteI'm a homebody. But I would like to rent/buy and RV once the kids leave home and see the US.
ReplyDeleteAs far as traditions go, hunting for a live tree is something we do every year. It started when the kids were babes and the artificial one broke just a week after decorating it. We loved hunting for the real thing so much, we've never gone back to artificial.
My father is from South TX, so I grew up with the tradition of eating a Mexican food supper on Christmas eve, complete with homemade tamales. The lady who used to make them for us has passed on, but we manage to find some good ones every year and keep it going.
Have a wonderful holiday! :)
Love the pics. Sounds like Christmas is a very relaxed and enjoyable time for you.
ReplyDeleteMERRY CHRISTMAS. x
Love your pic (If I had gone on a cruise, I too would have written). No Christmas tree, thats kinda sad.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, Lynda.
I've often wondered how those down under celebrate Christmas in the summer. It's not like I live in a cold area, though. Right now the draft from the ceiling fan is as chilly as it gets. Sounds like you have some lovely traditions.
ReplyDeleteAlas...I haven't put my tree up, either. Just too dang busy and haven't made time for it. It'll go up, though...company coming on Sunday.
Right now...last-minute shopping. I've done most of it online, but gotta face the crowds for some of it.
Merry Christmas, Lynda, from one side of the world to the other.
The beach photo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWe usually have a quiet family night with a special dinner and a fire in the fireplace. Some years the kids have opened presents at 12:01 on Christmas morning because they can't wait. :)
Have a Merry Christmas!
That's sound like a great holiday tradition. Especially the part about taking a nap after eating. I envy the fact you live in a warmer climate. I live on the East Coast in the U.S. and the weather is usually cold this time of year. And sometimes we have to deal with the possibility of snow, which I could do without.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, we would open our gifts on Christmas morning, have breakfast and then head out to visit other relatives around town. Then it was back home to eat an early dinner and receive evening visitors for good conversation and a lot of laughter.
Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've tried enough to say which form of travel is my favorite.
I like any form of travel where I can try new things, eat good food, while knowing that my family and I are safe at where we are. I like baking treats for others during the holidays- I guess that's one of my traditions.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful holiday, Lynda!
I want to go to Lifou, right now. Even if that means a 24hour journey across continents. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lynda,
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays....
I see you didn't get the tree up... oh well. As I had said before poinsettias are THE way to go when you don't have the time to fuss.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm glad you enjoyed my decorations. A LOT of work, but I did enjoy it.
As for travel, I really do enjoy road trips! Last fall I drove from Chicago to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and back home. On route I managed to get onto a local street that did follow the highway. I traveled through THE most charming tiny village for hours. What should have been a three hour drive ended up to be almost seven... It was SO worth the extra time... each town was a gem!
I have to agree with you about the poinsettias.
DeleteOh I love taking the route less travelled. It's all about the journey and not the destination.