Christmas in the land down undah.

I love christmas. With a passion.

As soon as halloween is over, it becomes my obsession, my pre-winter raison-d'etre. As the days get darker and colder and more threatening, the reds, golds, and greens of autumn become the ones of christmas decorations, and keep me going. I pour over the update of last years christmas playlist, and start playing it privately right away, publicly as soon as my friends will tolerate, and feel giddy every time I hear sleigh bells. I start keeping Christmas-present/card lists in about 4 different places. I drool over delicate blown glass ornaments and can't resist from buying at least 4 new ones for my tree-to-be, despite the fact I have way too many ornaments already. Decorations go up on the first of december. I create a huge mental list of all the crafts I will inevitably not make as presents for people. I spend too much time examining and buying a tree at the market, then argue with someone, anyone, while attempting to get that damn thing up straight. I stay up ridiculously late doing christmas baking/crafting at least twice. Christmas eve-day is, without fail, a mix of excitement and intense stress as I rush around completing last-minute preparations for the next morning, and curse my annual christmas procrastination YET again. 4pm Christmas eve - shops are closed, all I can do now is some rushed wrapping, and get cleaned up and dressed for a lovely, long, rich family&friends dinner. Christmas morning comes and I am like a very young child again, in my christmas PJs, waking everyone up needlessly early to start the gift opening around the base of the tree while drinking coffee and eating croissants. The rest of the day is spent lounging, tidying, playing with new toys, watching christmas movies, and enjoying the glowing buzzing feeling of happiness and satisfaction we all share.

Christmas in australia was pretty much NONE of those things. It was hot and summery, it was over in a flash, and it was my first christmas spent without my family. Yet, it was probably the best christmas of my life so far.

It was well into december before we decorated the hostel on a hot sunny day, my bathing suit still wet from a morning trip to the beach. The only festive thing in town was a giant fake tree in the middle of town, covered in peace signs and hideous color-changing orbs, taunting my love of christmas. I swore to single-handedly spread christmas spirit around the hostel, I made it my mission to carry out christmas traditions in order to spread the cheer - but it was easily another week before I even remembered to transfer my playlist to the hostel stereo system. I continually marveled with others at how it felt like pretend-christmas-in-July thanks to a lack of all those normal indicators of the festive season, and tho I anticipated the normal christmas-music backlash, much to my delight others shared my relief at some, at any, feeling of christmas cheer. I initiated a christmas countdown board at the front reception desk, just to keep myself from missing the day completely, and felt a tinge of jealousy every time a package or sticker-decorated red envelope arrived behind reception for one of the guests. It was probably the 22nd or 23rd before I attempted to create my list, when it occurred to me that broke backpackers needs to get creative with gift giving. I settled on some good old fashioned Christmas baking, carried out just hours before the eve. (At least some things never change!) I tried and tried, but it still felt so un-chirstmasy.

On the eve, a big masquerade dinner was taking place at the hostel, but I just didn't feel like taking part. It was a huge affair, 200 people, mostly short term guests who seemed to highlight my loneliness rather than relieve it. I had decided early on that my priority was to be with friends, but the eve found everyone either working or scattered. At around 8pm a small group of us gave up on any special plans and headed over to the bar for a turkey dinner reminiscent of a college cafeteria "santa-special". And yet, what a lovely dinner! We talked about our families, shared our christmas traditions, talked, drank, and were merry. We were a rag-tag group, but that made it feel even better. After dinner we escaped back to the hostel to join in slightly-crazier-than-normal craziness of drunk&happy backpackers. A few gifts and christmas notes were exchanged as we milled around starting to feel festive and loving.

On christmas morning, i rose early to finish packing my baked goodies, then distributed them to the foot of friends beds/tents while they still slept. Walking around the campground I giggled and felt fuzzy at the sight of 7 present-stuffed-Christmas-stockings, hung on a piece of twine running between two bamboo trees outside a group of tents. Around 10am our little group commandeered 3tables in the big kitchen and united over a potluck christmas breakfast, complete with mimosas and sentimental speeches. We ate for ages, complimented each others food and thanked each others cooking efforts. We laughed and took silly pictures, passed around the santa hats, and openly wondered if the yoghurt had gone bad thanks to the constantly malfunctioning Arts Factory fridges. Full of food, sweating from the effort of eating, we retreated to the pool for some morning swimming hi-jinx, then stuffed the pool to head to the beach, partly out of longing for the sea, but mostly just so we could say we spent christmas on the beach. Never will I forget the sight of a surfer heading down to the sea, board under arm, clothed in nothing but a Santa Hat. Around 3pm I headed back to do a short 4hour shift behind reception; best work shift EVER. I pretty much just sat there, aglow with contentment, loaning out pots and pans and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, happily receiving their mutual wishes, and giving out christmas hugs and kisses.



At some point that morning, It dawned on me that a christmas void of all the normal traditions and routines was also void of all the normal stressors and superficialities, leaving my mind free to focus on and enjoy all the little things that christmas is really about. Not gift-giving; any gifts were tiny tokens, and the note that came with the gift was the truly special part of it. One friend gave out bracelets of hemp twine with a single knot, 'tied with love and positive intention' - i think he hit the christmas spirit nail on the head.

So, even if I missed my christmas a bit, and missed my family and friends, It was easily one of the best christmases of my life. Though it was lacking all my normal traditions, though it was hot and sunny and over way too quickly (by the 26th we all wondered if it had happened at all?!) I loved it for whittling down all the christmas bullshit and leaving me with nothing but the truly important and rewarding parts of the christmas season; love and positive intention. I hope to make every christmas for the rest of my life just like this one. Aka: sorry people, no more gifts, but I can promise you tender notes and lots of hugs, kisses and love.

Merry Christmas and Happy new year to you all, I love you & miss you, and wish you all the most amazing things in the upcoming year.

xoxoxoxoxox Merry Christmas!! xoxoxoxoxoxox