Christmas
 

Have'nt actually seen anyone mentioning christmas in NZ. We arrive mid November and will need to shop for pressies for the kids. Are toys in ready supplies? Do Newzealanders have selection boxes? Are shops already full with gift ideas, fancy biscuits etc. Can i buy xmas pudding? Yes i know im rambling but i love christmas and love buying all the bits and pieces that make the kids happy. Thanks carole :D

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Can only answer from a visitors point of view, if its any help. We were in Auckland this time last year and the night before we left we saw our one and only Christmas tree being put up in the window of Farmers in Queen Street. The only other thing we saw Christmassy was cards in the post office. Sorry I cant be of more help but I'm sure they'll be lots more to come.......

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Hi Carole,

Here in Wellington the advent calendars have been in the shops for about a month now. Shops are full of Xmas stuff, cards, decorations, toys, sweets etc. just like back home. In fact some shops now have their Xmas cards on sale. Most of the shops have Xmas clubs, so you can put stuff away. I haven't noticed Xmas pud, but haven't looked.
Stop worrying and look forward to a sunny Xmas.

Dee

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They do have xmas pud here, I bought one last year and it's still in the cupboard unopened as we just were too stuffed to eat pud in the end.
I find xmas a bit disappointing here, and miss all the atmostphere and build up to the actual day.
Turkeys cost a small mortgage too so we just had a big chicken last year.
When we get moved onto our land Im going to grow our own turkeys :)

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Christmas is only one day long here...everybody is over it by boxing day and has this strange desire to go shopping???
I will be at work till 8.30pm on xmas eve and back again at 8.30am on boxing day. woohooo

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Hi Carole,

I sound like you, I too love Christmas, and it's the one thing I'm not sure I'll find easy to adjust to in NZ! Christmas just is about winter, getting dark early, the fairy lights twinkling in the afternoon, lighting the fire & candles, praying for snow etc etc!! How will I feel when it's Summer and warm and doesn't get dark on Christmas Eve til late?! But on a positive note, I may find I love it!! Am sure the dogs will prefer the mandotary Boxing Day walk in the sun, rather than sub-zero temperatures!!

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If you move to the South Island, you may well get snow so don't worry.

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All those things are readily available - same build up to Christmas - just all happens in the middle of summer! Something bizarre about Father Christmas on a motorised sled, ho-ho-ho'ing his way down the street in 80 degrees of heat! Tinsel looks really tacky in bright sunlight - and the light in NZ is very bright! TV adverts for Christmas specials for beach teeshirts, in front of a roaring open fire with Christmas stockings hanging from the mantlepiece with holly etc.

There are still kiwi families who will do the whole roast turkey with all the trimmings thing - have to say, I refused point blank in the face of summer heat. Most break out the barbecue - seafood is popular - but Christmas trees, false and real, are in most homes - in Wellington there are suburbs which compete to create amazing fairylight displays on houses and gardens.

Christmas here is different... like many things in NZ, familiar... but different.

Although pine trees are used as Christmas trees indoors, the "New Zealand Christmas Tree" is the pohutakawa - a fairly nondescript tree for most of the year which, in the weeks before Christmas, breaks out into the most amazing display of red flowers - very much a kiwi symbol of Christmas - as is asparagus, black cherries, strawberries, lobster - known as crayfish here - oriental lilies which, for me, are the smell of Christmas in New Zealand - I arrived in Wellington on December 4th.

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We live on the "Pohutukawa Coast"... local kiwis tell me that if they flower before christmas it will be a good summer.... if after christmas then not so good. We have our own Pohutukawa in our garden now but somebody has hacked the top of it right out so that it doesnt block the sea view....poor thing.

The only christmassy things we did last year was send a few cards back to the UK.. buy our son a few presents. Put up a tacky plastic christmas tree and one set of lights and bought a massive cooked ham from the local butcher. It was our first christmas here and it all seemed a bit unreal... still had Culture Shock then.

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Shop in Hamilton today, selling nothing but fake trees, fairy lights, ribbons, tinsel...Also had a big Santa Doll out front singing Christmas songs and rocking his hips!! Came as a shock to me, I'd forgotten what month it was!! There's also the 'Traditional Christmas Shop' on the main drag here, don't know if it's open all year, but it certainly looks permanent. :D

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It snowed all day on my last Christmas Day in Ireland. It's a Wonderful Life was on at some ungodly hour in the morning and I had everyone up to watch it - with the fire lighting - and then the snow started to fall. Absolute magic. It was the first Christmas in ages that I actually enjoyed and in comparison to last year - well.... no comparison. I can't get into it here at all - I wondered why there was Christmas stuff in the Warehouse last week :eek: I don't actually mind that it only lasts one day but we did the full roast thing with the inlaws last year and I really don't want to do that again! Anyone got any ideas on how to get out of Christmas Day with the mother in law???? :p

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Christmas Day in the Southern Hemisphere is just different, I don't think it is all bad though!
It is nice to get all the bank holidays in summer so that you can enjoy the outside life, swimming, beach etc. A picnic somewhere pretty on Boxing Day, long summer evenings with a G&T, trying out the new bicycles and skateboards at the local park.
If you are missing friends and family back in the UK why not start your own traditions, free from the stress and tribulations of many a Christmas with the relatives. This is your chance to find something special for your kids that isn't all about the material presents and the family feud.
The Christmas lights don't make sense, nor do the fake snow or robins, but the Pohutukawa is stunning. Why not head out to find some proper NZ bush, or go fishing for pipi and mussels, or go as a family for a walk on a volcano.

Sure it isn't the same - but it is still good.

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Were you listening to hubby and I talking about this last nite?! We came up with the exact same thing. It'll be a time to start new traditions for Summer Christmases!! The more I think about it now, the more positive I feel about it. Embracing a totally new style Christmas. And totally with cottageinthesky, bugger slaving over a roast with all the trimmings!! Although I love doing it here, I shall find a different style Christmas dinner that hopefully we shall love as much. The kids would be happy with chocolate, crisps, ice cream and the occassionally glass of something fizzy - much like me!! Way less effort and preparation time, thus freeing up more time to relax and enjoy the sun (I bloody hope!)

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thought I read somewhere that they have another christmas day in june - am I imagining this or does it really happen? :confused:

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Often there is a "midwinter Christmas" party in June, just another excuse for a party! The shops aren't involved, it doesn't supplant Dec 25th in any way shape or form, but it is a very good excuse for mulled wine :)

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I need help on this one too please

somehow without being slightly dead, I dont think i have a cat in hells chance of escaping it, as it is hubbys first xmas in NZ in 18 yrs

at least I get to escape to melbourne on boxing day for a week to go see my sister and her family

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not quite another Christmas - a Mid Winter celebration when the weather is better suited to roast turkey and all the trimmings!

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That is genius!!! Must book us a skiing holiday on the South Island to coincide if possible - after I've worked 40 years to be entitled to a 1 week holiday!! :rolleyes:

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I'm still surprised that more kiwis haven't moved away from the traditional European image - quite bizarre that robins - that don't exist here, well not the european variety, the kiwi native robin is brown all over - snow, which much of the country rarely encounters, etc. are still used as Christmas images.

Flax bushes produce long flower stems from about this time of year - very "kiwi" shape and I have meant for several Christmases, to experiment using them instead of a Christmas tree.

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ooohhh Christmas, my favourite thing!
It does take a bit of getting used to, my first wasn't so good because we didn't know anyone and I felt a bit hollow all day. We went to the beach and took some pressies to open, had a swim etc and did the whole 'well this is the life' thing but really I wanted to be in a place where people might be popping in to say 'hello merry Christmas and I knew 100% that this wasn't going to happen.

Now we have been here 4 years though its different. I love walking around shopping in flip flops with sand between my toes in the baking sun listening to Winter Wonderland or White Christmas being played in the shops. Last year we were in the Viaduct when santa arrived in a boat, all lit up with music playing.

My sons birthday is 24th June and for his 16th we took him to sky tower restaurant, imagine his face as we walked in to find it decorated and Cliff Richard belting out Mistletoe and Wine!

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Sounds like the North Island is a lot warmer on Xmas day than the South, I think we may have had the fire lit last xmas to take the chill off and the year before that it rained!

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I didn't know that! I'm sure I've seen robins here but maybe not.
Now you've got me missing robins :(

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I haven't laughed like this since God knows when!! That is soooo funny! Bloody Cliff gets everywhere!! How cold in your Winter does it get on the North Island?

I have no concerns about missing people popping in - we have no-one here anyway!!

Funny, now we've announced this will be our last Christmas in the UK family are all making the effort to come to us! Nooooo - go away ... I liked it better when it was just us and we chose whether we bothered to visit. 100% of the time, we chose not to!!

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This winter was the coldest in the 4 we have had here. I even saw a patch of frost one morning and me and Laura asked hubs to stop the car so we could get out and walk in it, but he wasn't playing. It doesn't get below 0 in this part of Auckland, and the days can still be warm in June.

When my parents moved back to Cornwall, we went for Christmas and it snowed on Boxing day! It didn't last long but was quite magical.

This Christmas we will be in australia as my best mate, who is also my sister in law, will be there on holiday with her hubby and their two kids. I am so excited. We get there on Christmas eve, they will have been there a week by then, she is getting the food in for bbq, we will bring the booze from the duty free. Sorted!

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Was definately much colder this winter than last. We had coffee mornings last winter and sat outside in the sun.... this year no chance. I'm still waiting for it to get warmer now... I love the warm weather.

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See, that sounds very appealing now I've got my head round the difference!!

Were your parent in Cornwall last year for November 25th and the snow? Took me 9 hours to do a round trip of 10 miles?! hubby got stuck overnite at work. Eldest got stuck having to stay with a friend after school. I missed flight to Dublin the next day as couldn't get out of my drive!! No compensation as they'd cleared the runways in Newquay and therefore as far as they were concerned flights were on!!

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Batty, I wish you all the luck in the world, can you say you've been invited to friends this year and maybe go to hers on Boxing Day!! Maybe arrange to go away and say the flight leaves on Xmas eve.

:D I've been thinking on the same lines :p but honestly I don't think I have any hope :eek:

My MIL is driving me up the wall at the moment to the point where I want to tell her to F*@% off and get out of my face but with having 3 sons who stick up for their mother you can't say a bad thing to her or about her :p

I was talking to my Mum about xmas yesterday and told her that this year I'm staying at home and wasn't going anywhere so no doubt I'll have family here including the Duchess herself.

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Oh dear, I'm quite glad mine is safely tucked away in UK and cant fly :D
She's fine actually, even if she still (after 4 years) cant get the time difference right and calls us at 5am for a chat :rolleyes:

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we fly to Oz on boxing day to see mys sister...were in Oz you going jude?

couldnt escape christmas at mother in laws as hubby not been here for 18 yrs so wanted xmas there...i absolutley refused to do xmas at ours this year, saying that we go away boxing day, so will probably have to do next years....NO save me please

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we are going to Gold Coast, sis-in -law has rented an appartment for 4 weeks there, we wont be staying with them but have booked a hotel which we are hoping is a short walk away from them. We can only stay 9 days but will the longest time we have had off work together since the 9 months we took when we first moved here 4 years ago!
My oldest isn't coming, he is away with mates on Boxing day, we leave on Christmas eve so he wont be with us for chrimbo, which is a shame. Not the first one though, when he was 16 he spent christmas with his then gf's grandparents in New Plymouth. I missed him so much, and whilst he was away I had Lola. I couldn't ring to tell him as he was then trekking in the mountains somewhere with his mates, but I was desperate for him to get home. He arrived back one night, I heard a car stop and him walk down the drive. I had the baby on my lap, she was 2 or 3 days old. He walked in our room and his words were 'oh, you had the kid' :D in a pleased and suprised tone...if you see what I mean!

You are going to Melbourne aren't you?

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Where on the gold coast are you staying? I wanted to go at Xmas using airpoints as my brother lives there but flying Qantas they said you had to book at least 6-12mths in advance. I'll have to plan in advance for sometime next year.
It will be very hot at Xmas getting up to 40degrees some days. Jupiters Casino do a nice buffet Lunch/Dinner. Most places are cheap for meals.
Pacific Fair shopping Mall is really nice.

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On Christmas Day!!!

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We are staying in Main Beach, never been before, hubs had two weeks in surfers a couple of years ago, he liked it there. Have you been to Main Beach?
I am a bit concerned about the heat, the hotel we booked has air con, I presumed they all would but the cheaper ones dont.
We booked about 6 weeks ago, going on Christmas eve, coming back New years day, flying with Air NZ. Wonder why Qantas want advance bookings? Is it because you were using airpoints?

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I haven't been to main beach itself. I think it's between Southport & Surfers itself. Australia Fair shopping centre is near by.

I haven't been for 3 yrs . My Mum & Dad went last Xmas and Mum said it was too hot and that she would never go again at Xmas, but that's my mum she doesn't like the heat or cold.

In Surfers itself they have a night market which is good to see.
Are you going to the theme parks? I haven't been to the wild west one but the others are all good. http://www.theme-parks.com.au/

If you can try and go the Carrara markets too.
http://www.carraramarkets.com.au/

Hope the weather isn't too hot for you, at least you'll know you'll be doing plenty of swimming, drink lots of water too especially the kids.

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sounds good - love mulled wine
Do you have fireworks very often?
also - we are coming over for our final recce - christmas/newyear - is there anything 'not to miss' for new years eve?

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Yis!

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Which part of NZ do you live in Cottageinthesky?

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Here's me and my son not this xmas just gone but the one before, this is xmas day .... not right sunny was it lol :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Picture298.jpg

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Wellington - Khandallah, in the Western Hills - weather here is much milder than Buckinghamshire!

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How do you do that? Post photos, not ride a bike! Does look a bit grey :(