Celebrating Christmas in Australia/New Zealand

While the Northern hemisphere lays covered in show we spend our Christmas drenched in sun. What are your unique Australian or New Zeland ways to enjoy the great outdoors at Chrismas time?

Maybe you head off beyond the black stump with barbie, a tuckerbag of Jumbuck and a few longnecks?

Put on the roo bar and go for a spot of of camping and fishing by the billabong, hoping for a flattie or two?

Do a bit of hard yakka out the back, swatting off a few blowies and giving the Victa a good run?

Pull out the cozzie or budgie smugglers and sink a few tinnies of amber in the pool during the arvo, pretending you've taken a loo break?

You may have to work but make sure you have a few sickies and smokos up yer sleeve, head to the watering hole for lunch and catch up on the good oil?

Rip out the cricket bat and after a few stubbies argue whether Jeff Thomson or Brett Lee could bowl faster and try to impersonate them to prove it?

Maybe you act the galah, pull out the Santa gear and head to Bondi for a squizz:


Please share your unique ways to enjoy Christmas in the great outdoors...

Normally we would go for a drive up to the Bay of Islands for the day but this year I think I will just spend it trying to avoid the in laws who just got back from aus.

My fondest Christmas memory is of a stinking hot Christmas back in the 70s. Mother Kooka had tried her best to keep us cool by setting up the table in the carport and hosing it down, but we were still sweltering.

Finally, in desperation, Dad set up a sprinkler on the front lawn, and we grabbed a chicken leg each and sat under the sprinkler!

Of course, there was that Christmas where Dad and I got sauced on Bailey's Irish Cream at breakfast and were blotto by the time poor MK served lunch - we were NOT popular!

Christmas at our place has always been a pretty casual affair. We have 5 sons and at one stage 4 had girlfriends, so I figured early on we were going to have to share them with their families. I don’t ever want anyone feeling like the “have to” spend the day with us-life’s complicated enough and I don’t like to add to it!

Christmas eve for many years, Todd has brought home about a dozen mates-some come for dinner, most don’t. It’s a night when we all sit out side and laugh and talk and drink too much, then Russ light a portable fire and we do it some more. Around midnight, they go off to the pubs and club, we go to bed.

Another son Ryan worked most Christmas Day lunch’s cheffing, so our next favourite tradition was started. We rise late, have a couple of Kir Royale and eat a late brunch. No lunch then a late dinner. The day is a really lazy one.

Christmas dinner, most of the 5 boys and their girlfriends manage to be home with us. Blair has been away working in remote areas so hasn’t been home for about 5 years. In the last few years, we have had two seafood dinners, two traditional dinners, one BBQ with salads and one Spanish tapas theme.

There is a lot of discussion with the two other chefs of the family before we make a final decision on the meal! Our traditional dinners included pork, ham and goose one year, turkey, duck, quail, pork and ham the other. I usually make Christmas Plum Pudding , or Ice-cream Christmas Pudding , Trifle or strawberry tiramisu for dessert.

We open our presents at dinner time, although I have tried to teach my kids it’s not about the presents.

This year, we are having Christmas in Perth and sharing our son’s girlfriend’s traditions for the first time. We’ll be having a seafood lunch and traditional dinner. Russ is cooking a Snapper Baked With Cumin and Lemon, plus rating ; we’ll be having stir fried salt and pepper squid, and cold, cooked prawns plus a selection of salads. Dinner will be cold turkey, hot roast beef and pork, plus ham and the usual roast veggies. Trifle and ice cream plum pudding for dessert! There will be about 15 of us (including about 8 “orphans” from Warrnambool, and a nephew from New Zealand who has just arrived). We’ll eat outside by their beautiful pool. We are having a Kris Kringle, so only one present to be bought for one person!

Todd wore this to a Santa pub crawl in Melbourne, then out to the pub in Warrnambool a couple of years ago.

We've had a bit of fun leading up to Christmas this year with 'Santa's watching'

Starting at about Indy time we often see planes 'writing in the sky'. Both the girls think it's Santa writing them a message.

Christmas beatles have been another good one. Whenever they see a 'Christmas beatle' they are always looking over their shoulders.

Occassionally I've been leaving tiny bits of tinsel laying on the floor of their bedrooms. I tell them that 'Santa is watching'!

Ruby is still a bit scared of Santa and to be honest I don't really blame her. I think I'll be lucky to get a photo of her sitting on his knee this year.

Amber came home talking about 'Baby Cheeses' and how they are going to use a baby doll wrapped in a bunny rug for their preschool Christmas play and the doll is to be 'Baby Cheeses'.

That is SO funny ... Food on the brain like her mum, perhaps?

So Cute!!!

I am from Florida so I am no stranger to a hot Christmas on the beach. I love the Santas on the surf boards! Great Thread!

I was at a shower tea yesterday and one of the girls was saying she'd been in the supermarket and heard a father bawling out his child:

"As soon as we get home I'm getting right on the phone and calling Santa to tell him how naughty you've been!"

Everyone thought it was a great idea to add Santa to the discipline arsenal at this time of year, but thought, to make it really believable, they should put Santa's phone number in their address books.

I suggested 1800-SANTA.

One of my mates told me a few years ago he was driving past a toy store near Christmas and somehad had written graffitti on the wall: "Santa Claus is really mummy and daddy" .

I've only just spotted this thread...so here goes. This year we will be up near Byron Bay with our eldest daughter....it's the first Xmas she hasn't flown down to spend it with us...so it's her first "at home"Xmas. We will spend it on the beach ...lobster , prawns and oysters with salads we will make ....desert will probably be and icecream lolol.....I can't wait.....I just wish we had the "Aussie Esky".