Somehow there are just 3 sleeps until Christmas, how did that happen!?! I have just half a day of work left until my holidays and I cannot wait to be able to sit back and relax for a couple of weeks.
I’ve also finally put up our not so little Christmas Tree this weekend and am loving the festive spirit it creates. I also watched Love, Actually which was as great as always.
This year we weren’t able to fly back to the UK for Christmas with my family due to those annoying finances. I am though already planning the trip next year and cannot wait to spend lots of time with my family and friends (only about 50 weeks to go!).
We’ve planned to spend the day with a couple of our friends in Darwin this year. They are from America so it’s going to be fun and interesting to combine our different traditions together. We’re going to be cooking some yummy food on the BBQ and of course in the Aussie tradition will be hanging out around and in the pool!
Christmas in Darwin is quite different than Christmas in the UK. It’s obviously much hotter (around 33 degrees C versus 12 degrees C) plus there’s about 70 to 80% humidity so all you want is an ice cold drink (cider for me please) and to live in the air con and/or a swimming pool.
Last year we had Christmas lunch under the veranda whilst it rained most of the day. It was very strange being sat outside at Christmas.
In the UK also everyone wonders whether it is going to be a white Christmas but in Darwin we are all wondering when the rain is going to come. Apparently the monsoon rain won’t be coming until mid to late January so we have a little while yet for this humidity 🙁
The weather also influences what we do and most importantly what we eat on Christmas Day in each country.
As a family we would probably only have turkey a couple of times a year, at Christmas and Easter so it’s a bit of a special treat and I always look forward to sitting down with the family on Christmas Day for the turkey with all the trimmings including pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), sprouts (apparently I used to steal them from everyone’s plates at Christmas which must have been pleasant) and you can’t beat some bread sauce.
In Darwin, and Australia really, I understand that it’s more likely that you would eat some roast beef or lamb than turkey. Ham is also popular as well as anything you can cook on the BBQ and your less likely to have a full roast dinner because it’s too hot to cook which is a shame as you can’t beat some proper roast potatoes.
I did have a go at a full roast last Christmas and managed to cook it all on the barbie!
The Aussie’s brother is visiting us on Boxing Day for lunch and we’re planning a bit of a full Christmas dinner then depending on how hot its is. I’m definitely wishing we had a BBQ still because it would be great to stick everything in it to cook whilst sitting in the cool house rather than running around in the kitchen.
We also always watch the Queens Speech with my family and I am looking forward to sitting down and watching it because they also show it here for us because Australia is a Commonwealth Country. I am looking forward to watching the Doctor Who Christmas special after watching the trailer recently. It also will be on here before in the UK because of the timezones so will have to make sure I don’t give away any spoilers because my brother is a HUGE Doctor Who fan.
In the evening in the UK, after watching all the Christmas TV specials we would sit down around the table again and enjoy some cold meats, pickles like pickled beetroot or cabbage which is amazing.
We probably won’t do that here this year but instead I am really really excited to FaceTime my family when they open their presents on Christmas morning. Last year we did the same and whilst I wish I could be there with them FaceTime is the perfect way to feel part of the day with them.
Last year I even got to sit down with them whilst they ate their Christmas lunch, though I had food envy!! My Mum’s a fantastic cook.
What are your families Christmas traditions? What do you always look forward to at Christmas?
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We usually travel, but when we don’t we always have dimsum.
That’s a good Christmas tradition
Thank you so much for sharing this. I love facetime. We’ve done Thanksgiving dinner with the far flung loved ones over it.
It definitely helps bring everyone together
My wife walked down the aisle at our wedding to “Christmas Canon” by Transiberian Orchestra. Now, we start Christmas every year by putting on their DVD on the television. It always makes me a little teary deep-down.
That’s a lovely tradition, Merry Christmas
I’ve been watching Doctor Who all day. Yes, I’ve seen them all before. No, it’s never boring. ha ha If Christmas is at our house, we’re busy from lunch to dinner. If at others, we stay a couple of hours at however many houses until we’re tired. ha ha ha
I agree I can watch Doctor Who over and over! Sounds like the perfect Christmas Day plans too
I hope you and your Aussie had a lovely Christmas, Vicky! We had a surprisingly humid day down in Canberra with my sister and her family. You know, we have no traditions whatsoever. Sometimes we’re in snow and minus 40 celsius, sometimes we’re in stinking hot humid heat. Does me being a scrooge about carols every year count as a tradition? Hehehehe 😉
Maybe your tradition is to have no traditions 😉 I think being a scrooge about Carols works too! We had a great day swimming and eating swimming and eating! It’s a hard life sometimes 😀
What a great idea for a blog hop! I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog. Like you, I have to Skype with some friends who are abroad, but it’s a fun new tradition 🙂
Thank you for visiting Aileen 🙂 I am very glad that we have Skype and FaceTime to keep in touch with family and friends around the world for sure
i heard about how the aussies would bbq on christmas! i’d love to experience it one day.. just like i’d love to experience a white christmas. though i really prefer snow more to look at than to actually be in it and feel it. haha merry christmas!
Haha I know that feeling well. BBQing for Christmas is definitely different but we did also do the proper Christmas Dinner on Boxing Day as well so have had both experiences this year. Next year we’ll be in the UK freezing our butts off but cannot wait for that too!
Boxing Day…. I always am so curious about it! I enjoyed reading about yours! I don’t know that two people celebrate it the same way!
That’s so true, its a strange one and no one can seem to agree what Boxing Day actually does/is! We usually just have a quiet day at home on ours but some people rush to the shops which seems crazy to me 🙂
I love hearing others traditions. I do not have many traditions, but I have a young family of my own, so I’m always looking for traditions to start. We bake cookies the weekend before Christmas and eat cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. I can’t wait to start more traditions. 🙂
Your traditions sound great, I love making new traditions too it makes Christmas much more exciting and special 🙂
I did not celebrate Christmas until I moved to Finland, Santa Claus’ homeland. I love how Finns celebrate it: sauna, under the Christmas tree presents, and weighing ourselves (so that you could compare your weight on next year Christmas).
I would love to experience Christmas in Finland, that would be amazing!
My favourite tradition is baking Christmas cookies with my daughter.
That sounds like a lovely tradition