It's Christmas time again

It is that time of year once more.

Christmas time!!

Half the world is shrouded in a blanket of icy snow while the other half, the half I'm in, is baking under an unseasonally hot sun.

On my side of the world Christmas is associated with camping trips, outings to the beach, bbqs on the deck, ice blocks and dripping ice cream cones.

When I was growing up we often traveled 10 hours by car to the Bay of Islands to stay at my grandparent's batch (or crib, for you southerners). There we spent idyllic days splashing in the inlet, building sandcastles and clambering over the rocks looking for crabs and playing in the huge pohutakawa trees that grew right down to the beach.

Both my mother and my father's mother are English. So while others were having their kiwi Christmas bbqs my family were indulging in the huge traditional English feast. Glazed hams, roast chickens, roasted vegetables and salad, fruit puddings with custard and brandy butter, Christmas mince pies and shortbread. Yum!

The best of both worlds! Sun and great food!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, whatever side of the world you're on. May God bless you richly in the coming year.

BTW, if you haven't yet watched The Nativity Story with your family (staring NZ's very own Keisha Castle-Hughes) this is the perfect time to do so.