Well, it's cloudy where I am, barely 20C and we will be having a full Christmas dinner as we always have. I think recent northern hemisphere immigrants down in VIC and TAS would feel a little less homesick at this time of year than those who have settled in QLD or WA.

I've had a lovely first Christmas here. We had our roast dinner yesterday evening as I didn't want to cook today. Kids were up & bouncing about our bedroom at 5.30am then spotted the presents under the tree (one of the downsides I've now found with living in a single story property) & were cycling around the house on their new bikes by 6.30am...yawn! We then hit the beach with a couple of guys that hubby works with & their families (must have been about 30 or so of us) & had a lovely morning followed by a relaxing afternoon at home whilst the kids played with their presents.

Since 5pm it's been a constant string of skype & phone calls with everyone back in the UK. Needless to say after speaking to my older 3 kids on skype followed by my Mum, Dad & sister on the phone I'm extremely tearful now & missing them all even more than ever

I hope the others of you also spending your first Christmas here in Oz have had a good day & Happy Christmas to you all

Alison x

lol cheers hun, and as others have said you get through it, i had a lovely day and the missing of loved ones is never going to go away so its just something will have to carry with me and allow to happen when it needs to
Didn't mean to make you cry hope you had a a great xmas, my last year was mental as we knew it was our last for a while the whole family go together

Thanks guys and here's hoping 2011 brings everyone what they wish for xxxxx

Not this weird year in Brisbane

Has been p#ssing down, cold, grey and overcast for weeks/months now and my wife keeps saying it feels like she's been transported back to the uk. She's not happy