Christmas 2006

My last two December 25th's were spent a world away from last minute shopping, family members stressing over the correct amount of bacon needed in recipies or wether or not the Christmas lights are turned on before we leave the house. I loved the fact that i didn't have to rush to get ready to get to a relatives house and that my biggest concern was that wether or not i felt like a spring roll from the spring roll lady. I liked the fact that i could go for a swim and just read a book and let Christmas be celebrated around me. In short i was happy to be off the Christmas radar for a while.

So this year being back at home seems out of the ordinary. I knew what to expect on Christmas day with our family. A lot of banter, Grans Christmas Pudding full of coins from 60 years ago which is followed up with Dad's little victory jig if he find a coin in his slice, too much food and the task of splitting it up at the end of the night and also my yearly present from Gran. About 15 years ago i mentioned to Gran (thats my dads mum for those outside of the know of my family structure) that i would like the Guiness Book of Records as a gift. It seemed that one year has turned into 15 as i now have every edition from 1989 onwards and also one that was donated from friends of the family that was dated 1978.

Thanks Gran. That's Number 18!

With that my Christmas Eve was dominated by Table Tennis. It was celebrated at my Aunty Lyn and Uncle Johns (thats my mums brother) house in the beautiful suburb of Yarraville. It was also my little cousin '10th birthday so between birthday cake blowing out and Christmas Mass it seemed i spent most of my time hunched over the table tennis table playing either my cousins or my brother. The highlight of the night would have to have been the mad dash from the church back to my uncles place to make it home in time for the start of "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" and seen that the mass finished at 6.50 and we were on the couch at 6.58 that really shows my families spirit of Christmas.

Also i must say that Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight totally destroys Sydney's poor excuse of an event. Melbourne's ability to stage events that have a certain class and ceremony to it can only be seen as another example of the difference between the two titan town on this continent. The Sydney carols seem to have more "celebrities" and a few singers plugged onto the end of it whereas Melbourne take the totally opposite idea. It's about the music, not the people singing it.

Which leads to yesterday and lucklily the annual U.N Summit (my name for our family Christmas Party) was being held at home so i had the home ground get shitfaced advantage but i was a very good boy and also as the weather was totally out of season it changed my beverage consumption habits dramatically. It seems that mother nature had forgotten to take her Valium because the weather in Melbourne has been all over the shop. In the space of week the weather went from 35 degrees and major bushfires in the state to 15 degrees yesterday and snow falling on the mountains! It really is a game of Russian Roulette when it comes to Melbournes weather and even the Russians have better odds than us. They only have one season anyway...really really really cold! Add to the fact that everyone i purchased presents for all received different coloured Beerlao t-shirts continued the tradition i started last year (with the Vietnamese Hats) of bulk buying presents which saves me a lot of stress. I'm hoping that next year at Christmas i'll be sending back gifts from somewhere in the world but that is a long time away and i'm not thinking about that for a while..well at least until Chris gets married in Feburary.

Still unseasonal weather aside, Christmas Day at home was celebrated the way our family knows how...lots of laughs. As i have stated before i am very lucky to have a family that has nothing but the deepest love and respect for each other. My afternoon was full of kids running around the house, the sound of wrapping paper being ripped to shreds, the desserts never being eaten due to full tummies all around the table and just the smiles on everyones faces. The memories of Christmas' past came flooding back and even though the desire to travel and see more of the world still burns inside me, this was one day where i was glad to be back home.