What do Australians have on their Christmas cards?

[TheIckabog]

Discussion with DH brought about by watching a TV program based in Australia where they were celebrating Christmas. DH remarked he’d feel a bit discombobulated celebrating Christmas when it’s hot.

It got me thinking- what do Australians put on their Christmas cards? In the UK and Europe and I suppose in America/Canada too they would have snowy scenes, robins nestled in holly bushes etc etc. What about down under where it’s Christmas during their summer? A scene of Santa on the beach in a red fur trimmed speedo?

If anyone can enlighten me I’d be grateful

@jcurve slightly off-topic, but something I've wondered about is do Australian/New Zealand school children move up a school year when they return to school in January after what is their long summer holiday?

@SkepticalCat yes, January is the start of the school year (ie when you’d move up a grade).

@missyB1

Dh is South African. He grew up with our snowy scene type cards, even though he never saw any snow until he moved to UK! They didn’t have a traditional Christmas dinner, they had a bbq buffet. Dessert was Christmas pudding flavour ice cream apparently.

Christmas pudding flavor ice cream?! Oh the horror! That is so so wrong!

Thank you @jcurve. That makes sense. And I can see how that would add to the festivities, one academic year finished, about to start a new one.

I often think of September in the UK as being a better time for "new starts" than January.

Our second Christmas home in NZ, after our first stint in the UK, in Christchurch - it damned near snowed! Couldn't believe it!

Perhaps it would be a bit like rum and raisin?

Similar cards to here. I used to live there.

I've made it. I just mixed crumbled leftover Christmas pudding with vanilla ice cream with a bit of rum to add a bit of festive flavour.

Brandy, not rum.

@mbosnz

Our second Christmas home in NZ, after our first stint in the UK, in Christchurch - it damned near snowed! Couldn't believe it!

Up on Port Hills or the mountains on the Banks Peninsula? We had snow in up there in October.

@BalloonSlayer

My sister deliberately buys the "Santa on the beach" cards to send to the UK but she says there are plenty of snowy type of cards. Plus shop window displays with people in scarves etc.

The worst thing is that there is no Christmas Telly. It's just ordinary telly. It's because you are supposed to be outside I suppose, but still, it's really disappointing.

The telly thing is because summer is the non-ratings period, so there’s eff all on tv. Like the UK in summer, but in Australia it’s Christmas as well.

I googled it. This is a belter

According to me ex who was from Melbourne, they have snow on their Christmas cards!

@missyB1

Dh is South African. He grew up with our snowy scene type cards, even though he never saw any snow until he moved to UK! They didn’t have a traditional Christmas dinner, they had a bbq buffet. Dessert was Christmas pudding flavour ice cream apparently.

Please ask your dh if that was the Venetia square ice cream that got sliced?

I haven't seen it in years.

@allpushkinsinsanity - this was in Papanui/Redwood!

[quote SkepticalCat]@jcurve slightly off-topic, but something I've wondered about is do Australian/New Zealand school children move up a school year when they return to school in January after what is their long summer holiday?[/quote]
Here in SA yes. The new year is usually mid January which after after the 6 week summer break.

@isthismylifenow Dh says no his mum made her own ice cream, basically a rum and raisin. But he remembers the Venetia square one

I have family in NZ who seem to think that Xmas cards are a very English tradition. Apparently they don't have them at all over there

Your family don't get out much! Xmas cards will be appearing in the shops (in their hundreds) very soon all over NZ.

Cards here are mostly the same as what you would see in the UK (including snowy scenes), but there are also many with an NZ theme - beaches, NZ flowers, kiwis etc.

slightly off-topic, but something I've wondered about is do Australian/New Zealand school children move up a school year when they return to school in January after what is their long summer holiday?

They do in NZ

The worst thing is that there is no Christmas Telly. It's just ordinary telly. It's because you are supposed to be outside I suppose, but still, it's really disappointing

It really isn’t disappointing at all! If you can spend the entire festive period on the beach or in the pool or sitting around a deck with friends and a bbq why would watching TV even need to feature? It is the middle of lovely summer.

I tend to just send normal Christmas cards from here tbh- same ones I did in the UK. And yes the school year begins in January.

As PP said it is so nice not having the post Christmas slump. There is lots of other stuff going on and even once Christmas is done there are still months of summer, then the festival period to go so no misery. And the build up is less frenzied because there are other things to be excited about like it being summer! Although it doesn’t in ANY way feel like Christmas when you are trying to shop in 35 degree heat

Our second Christmas home in NZ, after our first stint in the UK, in Christchurch - it damned near snowed! Couldn't believe it!

We had snow in Methven one Christmas many years ago. Not much, but it was definitely snow.

Duh was bitterly disappointed his first Xmas here, he’d never seen real snow and was expecting it for Xmas!
He had to wait another 2 years before we got snow, he was then disappointed because he thought it would have the texture of ice cream but instead it’s crunchy 🙄

We make a family photo Xmas card for immediate family each year and this years will be the two DC in summer outfits on the beach in front of the pop up sun shelter decorated with tinsel with a star on top and a merry Xmas chalk board message.
Kids move up a year over the summer break in both NZ and Aus.
In NZ there's lots of pohutukawa themed cards because they blossom over summer.

Kiwi here. Re Xmas telly - we don't have TV ads on Xmas day. (At least this always used to be the case... perhaps other Kiwis can verify).

Our Xmas cards last year had either festive pukekos or festive jandals on them. We also cooked Xmas dinner on the Weber bbq. Sounds weird but it does the most amazing roasts. DP is from the UK and loves it.

Aussie here. As a op stated, we mostly just send traditional cards with things like religious scenes, glittery trees or ornaments, snowy scenes. For our overseas friends we will often send the Australians type featuring kangaroos, koalas, the beach, surfing Santa or Santa in the outback.

Regarding Christmas in the heat, it's just what we know and are used to so we love it. I always enjoyed going for a swim after opening presents on Christmas morning. We don't have a full on roast lunch. Usually we have a roast turkey, cold ham, two types of hot potato dishes and a bunch of different fancy salads. Dessert options include hot plum pudding with ice cream, fruit salad, pavlova etc. We have 20-30 come to Christmas lunch so everyone brings something to share.