Yep it's tough, my first Christmas here too and I'm finding it hard, really hard.

I think if you have kids though you have to try that extra harder to make it special and put a brave face on, my eldest just said to me today, 'wish we were back in England for Christmas mum', it's the first time he's said anything like that. That was a real stab in the heart.

and now you're regretting not asking for a champagne lunch.

Actually I meant do people in the UK fly somewhere hot at Christmas, I haven't met anyone who does that, as I said it defeats the purpose. Sorry maybe should have made it clearer.

Plenty do Havingalook, even when I left 35 years ago. Mostly people without kids, so younger adult couples and older retired couples, sometimes whole familiy units off to their continental houses in Spain etc.

Wow, OK I haven't heard of it that's all. I just love this time of year and it seems odd to want to get away from it. Thanks.

Very common to jet off to the sun over Christmas. For one thing its school holidays and so you don't need to brave the wrath of the head for taking the kids out of school.

Christmas is still irrefutably (sp ?) December 25th, so if it's all I'm getting I'd better get on with observing it i.e. loads of food and booze and presents. It just happens to be warm and sunny outside.

What's the alternative ? Do nothing just because it's summer not winter ? Not on my watch !

We pretty much alternated between Lanzarote and Australia over the Christmas period since 96 till we moved out here permanently in 07 as we hated the cold and the place I worked at at the time had a compulsory 3 week closure over the festival season so we just used to say bugger it we're off to the warmth

Well, our day turned out to be not too bad - we enjoyed most of it.

Skyping family was the main difficult thing. We had to call either late on Christmas Day when they were only just up or on Boxing Day morning when they were all drunk and we had just got up!

Also we invited some other expats over in the evening and this annoyed our daughter a bit as she would rather have watched a film with us. We will spend the day on our own next year.

Time to get on with enjoying summer now. Hope you all had a good Christmas.

Glad it turned out OK for you... Im sure it'll get better each year.

Always best to plan a time for Skyping family back home - Christmas or anytime. I always know what time it is in the UK (currently 10 1/2 hours behind us) so spoke to my daughter first at 9am UK time / 7.30pm here as I knew my grandson would be up by then - and everyone else was slotted in after that as no other littlies to get them up too early.

I live in Australia for family reasons, my family is in UK. this year was great, just the two of us in Christmas, no humbug, most of the neighbours were away and it was nice and peaceful.

We have given up on Christmas here and, hopefully, they will be in the UK in future

Better Xmas here than back there!