I apologise for not writing Christmas cards or sending a Christmas letter, as I usually do. I suppose with my blog, there was little need for me to recap the 'year that was'. We had our first Christmas with the boys away from all our family and just the 4 of us. I have to say that the build up to Christmas was very mild in comparison to when we are in Australia - very few decorations and the stores were not hyped-up on Christmas like at home.
Until Christmas morning it really didn't feel like Christmas but with the boys up and excited at 4.50am........ we quickly got into the spirit of things. With quite a bit of hunting around and some 'well needed preparation' I managed to pull off a Christmas lunch just like home. Including roast chicken and veggies, baked ham and followed up with Christmas pudding and Brandy Sauce. I even managed to find a bottle of Moet (payed through the nose for it) but enjoyed it very much with a smoked salmon breakfast. Mike even opened his birthday bottle of Henschke for us to enjoy.
The boys were spoiled rotten - as the price of most things is so low. We managed to have lots of fun at home with table tennis, badminton, a new tent, remote control cars and lots of phone calls back to loved ones in Oz and the UK. In the afternoon we continued the festive celebrations at Alison and Pauls (our friends from the US) and the kids had even more sugar and more running around ......... Susie managed to consume even more wine- really I must learn to stop !
Boxing day was 'perfect' - just like home. Cricket (16 hours of it) on the TV, leftovers from Christmas lunch, the boys were preoccupied with all their new things and the drinks were still cold in the esky. What could be better?
We are not sure where we will celebrate next year, but at least we now know we can get by and have all the trimmings just like home.
A quick recap on 2013......
Jack and Max started the year at St Michaels in Stanmore, Sydney. Max started kindergarten with a large number of kids that he already knew, which was lovely. With only six months in Australia before leaving we made the most of catching up with everyone amd seeing as much of family as we could.
Until Christmas morning it really didn't feel like Christmas but with the boys up and excited at 4.50am........ we quickly got into the spirit of things. With quite a bit of hunting around and some 'well needed preparation' I managed to pull off a Christmas lunch just like home. Including roast chicken and veggies, baked ham and followed up with Christmas pudding and Brandy Sauce. I even managed to find a bottle of Moet (payed through the nose for it) but enjoyed it very much with a smoked salmon breakfast. Mike even opened his birthday bottle of Henschke for us to enjoy.
The boys were spoiled rotten - as the price of most things is so low. We managed to have lots of fun at home with table tennis, badminton, a new tent, remote control cars and lots of phone calls back to loved ones in Oz and the UK. In the afternoon we continued the festive celebrations at Alison and Pauls (our friends from the US) and the kids had even more sugar and more running around ......... Susie managed to consume even more wine- really I must learn to stop !
Boxing day was 'perfect' - just like home. Cricket (16 hours of it) on the TV, leftovers from Christmas lunch, the boys were preoccupied with all their new things and the drinks were still cold in the esky. What could be better?
We are not sure where we will celebrate next year, but at least we now know we can get by and have all the trimmings just like home.
A quick recap on 2013......
Jack and Max started the year at St Michaels in Stanmore, Sydney. Max started kindergarten with a large number of kids that he already knew, which was lovely. With only six months in Australia before leaving we made the most of catching up with everyone amd seeing as much of family as we could.
Mike and I managed a trip alone to Hawaii - the last hurrah, and we had a fabulous farewell party in Sydney - Bollywood style!! Thanks so much to all of those that could make it.
The move from Oz was stressful with packing up the house and renting it out, to unpacking and setting up home here in Bangalore. But in my true organised fashion, it all got done - relatively seamlessly.
As you know we have done quite a bit of travelling while we've been here and have plans for a lot more. The trip to the Taj Magal with mum and dad was a huge highlight and I think washing the elephants in Coorg was a very close second.
2014 will take us to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, chennai, Varanasi, Hong Kong, Kerala and many more places. As well as 8 weeks back in Oz for the 'summer' school break in June/July/August. We have Mike's parents coming for a holiday in February- so another fun time ahead showing them our new home. Please let us know if your interested in visiting. We have plenty of room and we are getting to be very good travel agents.
Wishing you all a wonderful and safe 2014.
Sus, Mike, Jack and Max (8 and 6 years now....)
No comments:
Post a Comment