SANDCASTLES & PAVLOVAS

Christmas in summer sounds a little odd, I know, but it is really a glorious thing. Here in New Zealand, we do things a little differently in the holiday season...

Sometime in mid November, mum would take us kids to the Santa Parade, to see all the floats dressed in tinsel, and laden with children in elves costume. 

Somebody from school told me at a very young age that Santa Claus was not real, and thus I never expected presents from him. Instead, I could go directly to the source: asking my parents for all manner of items throughout the year, in the hope one of them would show up on christmas morning.

Skip forward in time, and it is christmas day. It is hot, almost stifling, as I put the potatoes in the oven, and check on the turkey, which is sizzling away. The dining room is strewn with wrapping paper, as we opened our presents early in the morning, (because who can wait?). Around me are all the makings of a great lunch, with turkey and ham, potatoes and brussel sprouts, and cranberry sauce and gravy. For dessert is pavlova, a pouffy meringue of a thing, light as air and covered in cream and berries. All of which will be eaten by around 2:00 or so. Then we can finally escape the heat, and head to the beach as a family, and join all those other families lolling around on the sand and in the waves.