Crikey it’s a Scorcher! Christmas in Australia

by Xmas on May 3, 2012

For our friends down under Christmas falls slap bang in the middle of the summer. This means one thing; it’s going to be very, very hot!

Obviously the scorching hot weather plays a big part in a traditional Australian Christmas, but you might be surprised by some of the traditional British customs that are a part of their celebrations in the glorious sunshine.

Decorations

Aussie adventures on my tree

As there’s such a strong European influence in Australia you’ll find that a lot of their traditional decorations are similar to ours here in Britain. Christmas trees are decorated with baubles and tinsel and lights are put up on the outside of houses. You’ll even find that most Australian Christmas cards feature snowy winter scenes instead of a sun glazed landscape.

Gifts

Gifts? Already?

Christmas gifts are exchanged in Australia on the 25th of December just like in any other country. Friends and family gather round to swap presents after Santa Claus has stopped off in Australia on his Christmas Eve gift-giving tour of the world.

Food

Barbecuing Aussie

No matter where you’re celebrating Christmas food is always going to be an important part. You’d think that on a hot day the last thing you’d want to do is sit down and tuck into a thick slice of roast Turkey served with all the traditional trimmings, but this is exactly what a lot of Australians do. Other popular Christmas meats include chicken, duck and honey-glazed ham.

If this similarity is a disappointment you’ll be relieved to know that a healthy proportion of Aussies prefer to have a barbecue on Christmas Day instead. This could be set up in a local park, down at the beach or just in the back garden. More seafood is eaten over the Christmas period in Australia than at any other time of year, so shrimps will always find their way onto the barbecue.

For desert it’s back to the traditional. Mince pies, heavy Christmas fruit cake and chocolate logs are all eaten to celebrate the season.

Entertainment

Santa's Entourage

This is probably where traditional British and Australian Christmas celebrations differ the most. In Britain it’s cold, so most people tend to turn the heating up, or light a fire, and stay indoors. In the afternoon families often gather round the television to watch the year’s specials, and let’s not forget the Queen’s Speech!

The speech is broadcast in Australia, but a lot of people prefer to head out and make the most of their days off work in the sunshine. Some locals go for a family walk in the countryside whilst others play a spot of cricket in the back garden but for tourists in Australia there’s only one place to spend Christmas Day…the beach.

In recent years it’s become a tradition for tourists in Sydney to head down to Bondi Beach on Christmas Day. In fact each year around 40,000 people set foot on the sand over the course of the day. I can’t imagine Skegness attracts quite so many visitors on the 25th of December.

Sport

Hoggard to Hayden

In Britain thousands of us head off to football grounds around the country on Boxing Day. It’s a big day for sports fans in Australia too, as every year since 1950 a test match has been played on the 26th of December at the MCG in Melbourne between the Austrian Cricket Team and a visiting international side.

About the Author:

Mike H loves the festive season. In fact he wishes it could be Christmas every day! He works as a copywriter for Find Me A Gift, where you’ll find great Christmas gifts for all your friends and family.

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Custom Christmas gift ideas for friends and family

by Xmas on November 1, 2011

During the festive period, one thing that has people split right down the middle is gift buying. Some people relish the thought of scurrying round the shops from October at the latest, trying to find that perfect gift for a loved one, whilst others abhor the idea of spending Christmas Eve frantically rummaging through bargain bins for a barely adequate present. There is, however, another way to go about this yearly ritual, and that is via personalised gifts. For those who have everything or seem to want nothing, why not try these out for size?

  • A simple one up first, chocolate. Although it might not sound like much of a special gift, it certainly beats an off the shelf tin of sweets, especially if you take some expensive chocolate to a chocolatier and have a message written on it. Fairly cheap and easy to pull off, there isn’t far to go wrong here.
  • Personalised mugs, t-shirts, caps, dressing gowns, you name it, you can probably have it personalised. Again, getting something like this sorted out is particularly easy, but means a lot more than just the gift in its standard form.
  • Drawings, paintings and other general arts and crafts projects by little ones might sound like a cop out, but framed and presented right make a great gift for family members, and in their own way are priceless. It’s also a good reason to get involved with the kids with a fun activity over the Christmas period
  • If you really want to break the bank for someone this year, why not give the gift of a personalised number plate? The effort and expense increases tenfold compared to some of these other ideas, but the gift itself is difficult to beat. Just remember to go through all the necessary procedures, even if the red tape seems to be never-ending.
  • To finish, a digital photo frame or photo displayer is a fresh take on a classic custom gift. Upload the required photos to the frame and watch it display them in order, or at random in a slideshow, so your loved ones will never get bored of looking at the same photo again.

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