Christmas 2011

Despite the fact that some parts of Australia had terrible weather (cyclone in the Northern Territory and torrential rain and hail in Melbourne), we had a lovely Christmas in Adelaide. 

I started off my day with a three-mile run in a park near Al's mom and dad's home at 8 am. The park was full of walkers and joggers and dogs, and everybody was happy since it was a sunny and warm Christmas morning. Al's mom and dad were also out walking, and Al went there to run (although I never go with him since he runs so much faster than I do). 

At 11, Al's brother Nick, his wife Anna, Al's brother Hamish, his girlfriend Ayzsa and her son Nate came over for mimosas and presents. 

At 12:30, we arrived at Aunt Susie and Uncle Andy's new house in the Adelaide Hills for lunch. As usual, there were drinks and plenty of food!

We also had our assigned seats and our Christmas bon bons (they contain the Christmas hats, as you will see in a few pictures). 

We had passed appetizers before the big meal, such as amazing homemade sushi, spring rolls, and smoked salmon tarts. After that, we had lunch. I filled my plate with roasted potatoes, green beans, incredibly moist and delicious turkey, and tomato pie (sliced tomatoes, onions, and crusty bread). 

Most of the fam (minus myself) were from Adelaide, but there were also two uncles and one aunt from Melbourne. 

I sat in between Uncle Tim and Jamie (my future father-in-law). I have fun no matter where I sit on Christmas since we are always a chatty bunch. 

Soon after we started eating, we cracked open our bon  bons and put on our Christmas hats. Festive, eh?

Instead of going out and buying presents for everybody there, we did a "Kris Kringle" gift exchange. Each person buys a gift with a $20 limit and wraps it in red paper. We then take turns grabbing presents. We did the same thing last year in Melbourne when there were 30 people there, and it worked out very well. 

I got a pairing knife and a dish-washing scrubbing bristle gadget that fills up with soap (I really can't think of the name of it right now...if there even is a name for it). I'm pretty stoked about them, but I'll probably trade for Al's Jamie Oliver's 30-Minute Meals cookbook. He got the same thing last year for Christmas, and I really don't see the point of him having two of them. He doesn't, either. 

We ate our dessert on the patio. 

There were Haigh's truffles, mini mince pies, brandy butter, Christmas pudding, cream, ice cream, and a saliva-inducing bowl of fresh raspberries. If you don't know what these desserts are, then look 'em up on the 'net! 

I have zero complaints about the desserts. Everything was just perfect. 

Soon after dessert, we got a visit from Father Christmas. He drove up the hill on Uncle Andy's jeep. Perhaps Andy let Santa borrow his car, which was very nice. We looked around for Andy during this ordeal, but we couldn't find him. Maybe he ate too much and had to lie down for a power nap. 

We expected Santa to bring his reindeer, but he instead had his Little Helper named Lolla. 

As soon as he got to the top, they made a dash for a the house. They had important presents to deliver. 

We didn't see Santa after that, but we found Andy a little while later. I wonder what he was doing all of that time?

Santa also visited last year, but there were too many children present for Lolla to make an appearance. Alastair's family is just full laughs...yes?

I hope everybody else had a wonderful Christmas! I'll be in Adelaide relaxing until the first or second of January, and then we'll go back to Melbourne until it's time to go back to the States. As of now, I'm enjoying my relaxation and am not looking forward to going back yet!

P.S. Thanks to Penny for letting me steal a few photos off of her camera!