Who asked about Australian Christmases?

[TheSandgroper]

It's lovely. It's light and bright and warm. It means open windows with breezes or closed windows with aircon. It means touring the streets and houses during Advent with all the Christmas lights, pockets full of change for the charity of the day.

It means end of school, reports and summer holidays. It means your kids running around the back yard in the nuddy with lashings of sunscreen on. It means picnics in the park for Carols by Candlelight. It means going to Mass in light, bright clothes rather than thick coats, usually black.

It means opening presents in the sunshine. The garden is full of flowers and the birds are singing. It might mean a trip down the beach before dinner or after dinner. Or a dip in the pool. Or blowing up the inflatable pool when it is stiff and fresh.

It means It means

It means
Bush Christmas (Dave Martin)
...Auntie Flo sprawls like a lizard
On the back verandah floor ...

It means DH lights the Weber at 6 am so I can put the turkey on before 7, all done by 10 and the rest is easy. The house doesn't heat up that way. We have a mixed dinner of warm meats, cold salads. Others have lots of seafood (DF doesn't like it but he won't always be here). Best friend just has sausages and steak on the bbq.

It means everything shuts down for three weeks. On Boxing morning, everyone hits the road and the caravan parks etc fill up. Or, they watch the cricket from the 'G. Or they watch the start of the Sydney-Hobart.

Our family has its get-together at one of the big parks between Christmas and New Year. If you are around, you come. We can manage up to 80 people these days. BYO picnics with paddling or swimming. Lots of chat.

I have done a number of cold Christmases. They are dark, dreary and abnormal. God, I love my Christmas

Tell us about the Christmas kangaroo

Fascinating from 1947.

Christmas Under The Sun. Australia and Your Future. No. 3

Funnily enough mango, prawns, oysters, cocktails and champagne are readily available at non Australian Christmas days as well!!
The perfect Christmas location is just wherever the people you love are. The location is unimportant. I spent Christmas on the most beautiful tropical island one year when I was travelling. It was a gorgeous day but would given anything to have been able to spend it with my family

We've just moved to Australia (Adelaide) 2 month ago and are so exited for our first Christmas. DH and were here for a year (Victoria though) pre kids and it was the best Christmas ever, we went canoeing on the river, to the beach, sat outside, had an amazing bbq and generally fab day, can't wait to do it again.

From Scotland so it is always dark, cold and damp, when I snows it IS great (sledging up the hill tiddly on Christmas Day takes a lot to beat!) but that isn't nearly often enough, and whilst the day itself is great, the rest can be pretty miserable, and I'm another who really struggles with the crazy materialism and rampant consumerism.

So, we are really looking forward to it. We will also really look forward to going back to the U.K. every few years and having a cold Christmas though, and th DC can experience both.

Just in question- how on earth do you cook a turkey on a BBQ??? I didn't even realise that was an option! Need to figure that one out!

Ha we had a very large bbq that had a rotisserie attachment. Stick the turkey on, close the hood and he'd cook happily away. It was a delicious turkey.

One year my parents chose a turkey that was fucking massive, it was so big the rotisserie forks wouldn't hold it and my dad Macgyvered one with some sterilised screwdrivers or something like that. The whole thing including the tea towel he was holding caught fire and burned all the skin off the back of his hands. It was still a great Christmas though because all of the rowdy students who camped down at the lake got sunstroke and passed out in their tents so it was nice and quiet.

That was a memorable year.

miserable, and I'm another who really struggles with the crazy materialism and rampant consumerism.

@canihaveacoffeeplease - I hate to say it but you won't escape this in Australia. Advent calendars hit the shelves in early September....

Christmas in Oz sucks.

We had the air con on high so we could feel the cold. A Christmas tree in heat looks stupid, really stupid, especially if it has fake snow on it 🙄 that’s why they have Christmas in July events in Oz.

Glad I’m back in the Uk to enjoy a proper cold Christmas with a tree that looks like it should be in the cold not the hot with flies sitting on it.

Well if you're trying to replicate a Northern hemisphere cold Xmas in Oz then of course its going to be a bit shit! But if you go along with the Aussie way of things its wonderful fun, warm and relaxing. And why does Xmas have to be cold anyway? I'm pretty sure Jesus wasn't born in a snowy climate.

I love Christmas in Australia. The build up feels really weird- trying to do Christmas shopping when it is 35 degrees and sunny just makes my brain confused. But this means you don't get that frantic stressed feeling.
Long lazy BBQs and garden drinks sitting on verandahs. Going to the beach every day off in the run up and afterwards. Kids playing outside and not getting the cooped up trapped feeling.
It is a nice day which is not stressful and then it is done. No dragging on for weeks of build up and then pressure to do Christmas style things for days afterwards. And there is still another 2 months of summer happiness to go rather than the hard winter slog through till spring. I miss my family on the day but actually otherwise I LOVE it

Long lazy BBQs and garden drinks sitting on verandahs. Going to the beach every day off in the run up and afterwards. Kids playing outside and not getting the cooped up trapped feeling

Yes, that's summer. You guys are pretty much summer all year round compared to UK - so it's just normal activities for you guys? We enjoy summer when we get it too though

Trying to do Christmas shopping when it is 35 degrees. But this means you don't get that frantic stressed feeling

Shopping in 35 degree heat? I feel sweaty and stressed just thinking about that

It is a nice day which is not stressful and then it is done

Same as my Christmas Day in UK. Why would it be stressful because we have cooler weather

No dragging on for weeks of build up and then pressure to do Christmas style things for days afterwards

Again, personal choice for each family. I do nothing I don't want to do at Christmas. No pressure here. Part of build-up is getting ready for Christmas, depending on what you are organising. I love the anticipation. Keeps me busy on those shorter winter days. Christmas isn't one day for me (or for a lot of others). I wouldn't want it to be all about one single day.

And there is still another 2 months of summer happiness to go rather than the hard winter slog through till spring

That's what winter solstice/Saturnalia celebrations (which started long before religious ones) were about. Getting through the winter. It was FOR winter. Summer doesn't need it.

I miss my family on the day

Sorry to hear that The best bit of all is time with family (for those who get on with them).

I don't know if I'd celebrate Christmas if I was in Oz. Not religious and winter solstice doesn't apply there since it is summer. I wouldn't need Christmas there

Kids can play outside on Christmas Day - they aren't locked up. We played outside as children.

It's bushfire central in Oz round about Christmas time:-

www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35179209

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone regions in the world

Love Christmas in Perth. Breakfast at the beach. Cold lunch at home and friends in the afternoon. It’s so laid back .
I work Boxing Day normally 😪

I had my first Christmas in Australia in 15 years last year. First Australian Christmas for my kids.

It was amazing. Hadn’t realised how much I’d missed it, and how off-kilter English Christmases feel for me. I love Christmas but given a choice and unlimited budget, it would be a Queensland Christmas every year.

This year school doesn’t even break up in Engand until the Friday before Christmas. Just grim.

JassyRadlett I had my first Australian Christmas in 8 years last year. We moved home permanately 4 weeks ago