Sydney for the Holidays
Dec 24 – 31
As the days wound down to Christmas, I reflected on what I was doing this time last year – namely, stressing out about Christmas sales while rushing around madly to get all the shopping and wrapping done. Last year, I felt like I had missed out on Christmas with my family and was determined not to let that happen again. It was after nearly burning out trying to be everything to everyone that I had come to the decision to take a break and put my family first almost exactly one year ago. Now, I was secretly glad to only have to worry about buying a few small gifts for my immediate family and find ways to make this unique Christmas special for my children. Family and friends were on my mind, so I spent some extra time on a Christmas email and made several calls to loved ones at home (thank goodness long distance is incredibly cheap in Australia). Even though we were far from home, we felt more connected to our family and friends than ever before.
We arrived in Dural on December 24th and scrambled to get set up for Santa’s arrival. Claude bought a 3-foot high artificial Christmas tree and the kids made decorations out of paper, cardboard and tinfoil and plastered our windows with paper snowflakes.
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
Claude and Alexa made a cardboard nativity scene complete with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and animals and topped it off with grated parmesan snow.
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
That night, we watched the live television Sydney Christmas Special, put out a snack for Santa and the reindeer and tucked the kids into bed. Alexa and Simon had no doubts about Santa’s ability to find them in Australia and slept with the confidence of youth. Claude and I wrapped gifts in the bathroom and arranged them under the tree before cuddling with a glass of wine until midnight. We both agreed that this was the most simple and relaxed Christmas Eve we had ever enjoyed and thanked each other for the gift of togetherness we had given our family. Christmas morning dawned cloudy and grey, but that didn’t dampen our spirits as we opened our gifts. Due to our space constraints, each person only got a few gifts, but we were as happy as if we had gotten fifty.
The kids got the movie “Cars,” some beach toys and some computer games while Claude got sunglasses and a CD of “drivin’ tunes” and I got new PJ’s and some new books by my favourite author, Diana Gabaldon. We spent Christmas day playing with our gifts, calling home (where it was still Christmas Eve) and eating (just like at home).
On Boxing Day, we ventured into Sydney and walked around The Rocks and the Botanical Gardens and visited the famous Sydney Opera House.
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
We caught the start of the famous Sydney to Hobart race and followed the yachts around the point to Bondi Beach.
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
We also cased Macquarrie’s Point where we planned to take in the New Years Eve celebrations in a few days and found a good spot to watch the fireworks.
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
We spent the days between Christmas and New Years relaxing in Dural and planning the next phase of our trip. We spent a day exploring the Blue Mountains where we saw the Three Sisters,
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
climbed down and back up the 1000 steps of the Giant Staircase
 |
| From Holidays in S… |
and visited Australia’s Grand Canyon. There was much evidence of the recent brushfires that had swept through the region just one month before as many trails were closed, entire areas were blackened and the smell of charred wood still lingered in the air. Every day, the kids asked how many more days until New Years Eve until, finally, it arrived…
To see the rest of our holiday photos, visit our web album:
Tags: Australia, Blue Mountains, Christmas, Sydney, Travel
tambour
Leave a Reply