It was our second summer Christmas in New Zealand. The day was sunny and over cast, as most days here have been lately. We had a week of rain before Christmas so it was a relief to have some sun. Christmas eve was busy. We were invited to a Catholic Mass with our close friends, Fran and Jerome. They invited the kids to be Shepherds in their play and as all kids love to dress up, we went along. It was such a great way to emphasize the best Christmas gift of all, the Lord Jesus. So the service was held on the Marae which is the Maori land in their meeting house, shown in the photo above. That is me in the red dress and my shepherds beside me. There were over a hundred people there, mostly Maori, and the service was spoken/sung in Maori and English. Even the Priest spoke in Maori and he is Pakeha. (The Maori word for caucasian people is widely used here.) It was very casual and fun, full of laughter and very relaxed. I really enjoyed being with our friends and sharing Christmas eve with them.
The next service was at 9pm at our church, a Baptist church. What a contrast. It was dark, candlelit, solemn and only about 35-40 people. I organized the food and was told to prepare for 70 people! You can imagine how much I fussed, given that we were expecting guests from the community. I pulled out the silver tea set and the china and brought pointsettias, made punch and brought baking. I had a lot of fun doing it. We sang carols and watched a short clip of a movie depicting the time of Jesus birth. It was good but didn't have the same warm family joy that the Catholic service held.
Christmas Day - We were up at 7am opening stockings. The usual excitement with opening presents. I really loved that the gifts weren't pouring out from under the tree. The kids appreciated every single one of their small gifts that we gave them. A few things came from Canada but it was a pleasure to see the boys giving gifts to each other (and us) that they bought and paid for themselves. They are growing up so fast.
Fran and Jerome had invited us to lunch on Christmas day, so we had a wonderful time with them. A BBQ of steak and chicken kebabs. We also had salad and new potatoes from our garden. What a special Christmas, spending it with friends. We also had decided not to exchange gifts, which was very hard to do. Fran even text messaged me to confirm that we weren't going to exchange gifts. I had to laugh, because I was tempted to break our agreement. I did have a gift for her daughter but I'm saving it for her birthday now! We phoned everyone on Christmas day and had such a good time talking to the family. I did miss being there, but I'm sure all the stress of going from house to house would have been more than I could take. I always preferred to have everyone come to us than trapse all over the Lower Mainland to see everyone.
We actually stayed home from Saturday to Tuesday which was amazing for us. We didn't go anywhere for 4 days!! No Boxing Day frenzy, as it is Rick's birthday on Boxing Day. He got a new Parrot for his birthday but I'll save that for another day.
2 comments:
It sounds like you had a nice relaxing Christmas. We've been so caught up in busyness that I'm exhausted from it. It seems like once you get the ball rolling for that kind of lifestyle you can't get it to stop. And, I really dislike being on the go all the time. But, seems like since we've moved into this new place we've done nothing BUT shop and deal with unwanted activity around the house.
I'm actually looking forward to the schedule of schooldays, and extra-curricular activities.I'm also looking forward to Minton being back at work and having to stop at 5:00 to make dinner for him coming home.(I can't believe I actually said that!) I need the structure back in my life. Without school I find myself feeling a little at a loss for things to do. I'm still thinking I need some kind of hobby to focus on.
Also, I feel the need to find a new routine for this home. With Christmas happening so soon after we moved in, I haven't been able to establish any patterns. I don't know why I need structure so much, but I feel lost without it. I really like to have school scheduled for a certain time, and have days for baking, housecleaning, grocery shopping, etc. I guess I find it's easier to operate when I have goals for my days, rather than just waking up and wondering what might happen. I seem to get more accomplished.
Anyway, I'm rambling!!! I'm so glad that you had a wonderful Christmas even in the summer, and away from extended family. Blessings for more wonderful times there on the other side of the world. I miss being able to get together for coffee with you. Can we 'chat' sometime?
I would love to have coffee with you! How about tonight?! I'll check in with you later on MSN. It was a very relaxing Christmas. I almost feel guilty! We are busy in the garden and with the animals. We have eggs one or two a day now!!!! I love having chickens! Talk to you soon.
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