Tree is up, sparkly fairy lights in place, Christmas food is starting to creep in to the house...
Yet there are so many things missing...
Christmas in Australia is different. Not necessarily bad different - just different...
Christmas is so inherently linked with childhood that it won't matter how many years I spend here it will never feel quite right.
Christmas to me is about being cold - sometimes wet, but definitely cold. It's all about the anticipation of snow that very rarely actually appeared on the day! Wrapping up in your duffel coat, scarf, hat and gloves and going out in the evenings just to walk past the rows of identical houses with the trees in the front bay windows.
It's about Christmas carols singers huddled at your front door with lanterns or torches collecting for a charity.
It's about warm mince pies...
It's about High Streets with coloured lights hanging from every lampost.
It's about wishing year after year to be Mary in the nativity play and then after being a tinsel wearing angel for ever, the wish comes true!
Christmas is hot chocolates and Irish coffees snuggled under heavy blankets.
It's log fires and warming your cold hands on radiators.
Christmas is about Santas everywhere!
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| December 2012 in London |
For Sibs, Christmas is about days in the swimming pool and the beach.
It's long hot weeks of school holidays.
It's camping trips and ice cream.
Christmas is about cranking up the air conditioning or sitting in front of the fans.
It's shorts, Birkis's and bikinis!
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| December 2013 in Brisbane |
At the heart of it all though, Christmas time for me is also just about memories - and it doesn't really matter what the memories are or where they were made...
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| the time that 10 year old Sibs replaced our Christmas Angel with a home made one of Harry Styles! |
Each decoration has a story that is re-told as it's placed on the tree.
"Remember the time when we bought this in...."
"Remember when we made this....."
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| Christmas decorations from our travels |
Christmas evokes reflections.
It's the end of a year wherever you are...
Happy memory making.
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