Not feeling christmassy

[Alligatorpie]

I don't know if it because the weather here is so fabulous, (29c) yesterday, I am on mat leave so not at school making crafts with students, I am in an Arabic speaking country so am not inundated with Xmas stuff and haven't heard a single christmas song yet, but I want to get into the Xmas spirit. What do you do to feel christmassy when not at home?

I've done about six Christmases in the Gulf and I know what you mean. DIg out your Christmas tunes and get them playing, find some classic Christmas films, get a tree and decorate and plan your day. Do everything you would in the UK but with a local twist (dates in the red cabbage one year, didn't really gel but hey...). Or go to one of the five star hotels and watch the Christmas band/have a christmas high tea. It'll come.

ps if you're in Qatar the Sheraton used to have a unwittingly hilarious band of santas singing every day in December. Did it for me.

This will be our seventh Christmas in Australia, and it ALWAYS sneaks up on me. The nights drawing in back the UK were the signal, and the October half term when I'd get all my shopping done.Here the spring racing season and Melbourne Cup, delay the Christmas spending/advertising orgy, and here I am, no cards addressed, never mind sent. Still a Boxing Day invite has arrived - yay!

A new thing (to us) is a street party in two weeks' time, so we'll be joining in.

We're ordering an Otway ham; the best native stuff, but not a patch on any good UK supermarket ham - even Australian chefs say this. How can Oz ham be so indifferent? A mystery.

Other than that, The Christmas lunch will be oysters, prawns, crayfish, etc.

As a mark of respect, sprouts will be put on a rolling boil at the end of this week, in order to be ready for the big day.:o

Oooh I am lacking the Christmas spirit I am in Spain and although the streets are decorated it just isn´t the same. I really wish I could take the children to a Grotto, or ride one of the Father Christmas steam trains...

We usually go back to England for Christmas which I love but not this year and I am already feeling so down about it.

I am lucky as we can get our hands on a turkey but not mince pies, Christmas pud, Cake etc...Yes I know it shouldn´t just be about the food but...

Anyway I have just ordered 2 Christmas CDs off Amazon, here´s hoping a bit of Slade will lift the gloom a little

I know it will come, and we are going to my in laws in the UK for the holidays (Dec 23rd, so not much time before) so i will be immersed in it. I think I feel sad as it is dd2's first Xmas and I feel like it is a bit of non event. It is very different to dd1's first Xmas.

Peter- I think it is about the food. My in laws buy everything - nothing is homemade - and to me that is just wrong!

I will get my tree out and will try to buy a bottle of bailey's ( not sure if that is possible, but i will try) That would help :)

In France, also not feeling christmassy yet.
I went back to the Uk this weekend and it's in full flow there. Came back abit harummph about it all. Struggling with lack of parsnips, crackers et al.

If you want to buy the food (not turkey obviously, but anything that could be posted, like packs of mince pies, Quality Street - probably Baileys too, or whatever says Christmas to you) you can get pretty much anything via Amazon - do a bit of googling on your relevant google (google.fr or whatever) for British shops in your country which deliver too - I gave up relying on friends and family for tea and order mine in bulk on the internet, and have seen mince pies, christmas puddings, everything like that - we are in Germany so better google or amazon search out your own for France. Obviously you can also make it - mince pies are easy. You can't (easily) by lard where we are so I use home made veggie mince meat despite not being a veggie, and one advantage is it doesn't need aging so you can be last minute (like I am) - look on the bbc good food website.

I'm not even a big Christmas fan and over all prefer Bavarian Christmas to the rather dreary ones I remember from childhood which were over burdened with too many rituals and too much time in a freezing cold, rather dank and dark C of E church, but I do the food - I like combining the bits I like from each country :)

*buy

I'm not feeling remotely Christmassy despite buying 10 strings of tinsel for DH this morning.
We are planning to get a tree this weekend. Hopefully that'll help a bit.

Its full blown in the malls here. Noble firs have been shipped from oregon and sell like hotcakes despite the tear inducing price tag.
But still falls totally flat.

At least its getting cold and grim so our lights on the tree come on at 4pm and it feels cosy.
Was in fits when friends from singapore posted the "snowfest" which is kids in their wetsuits playing in a giant foambath blown ontop a mock tyrolian village or smthg....

Not feeling Christmassy here in the Caribbean. It's just too hot and its all wrong. :(

Christmas is the worst for homesickness for me.