Merry (white) Christmas from Down Under

Christmas morning with Liana's family.

If you know me, then you must know that I am not the biggest fan of Christmas. The commercialism makes my skin crawl, and the added stress to impressing family members with elaborate gift is too much for me to bare. Most people would be upset to find out that they would be spending the holidays away from their family. I was actually excited to by-pass the drama this year. Don't get me wrong. I adore my family, but I can't take everything that comes with the holidays.

Here's a thought why don't we just go on vacations for the holidays.

No presents. No drama. Just me, my family, the beach, and I can pretty much guarantee a white Christmas. That's right, even in Australia I can't escape the weather. It wasn't snow, but the citizens of Melbourne did get heaps of hail. The downpour lasted for at least 10 minutes; even buddy came inside for shelter. It definitely was an adventure. It was pretty entertaining to see all the Aussies freak out over the hail. Apparently they haven't had a hail like that in more than 10 years. Then Brad pointed out that insurance doesn't cover hail damage. Sorry guys.

It is unfortunate for all the people who came. Let's see if I can get this right. There was Liana, Maddie, Diane, Brad, Georgia, Liam, Aidan, Grandma, Grandpa, Matt, Daniel, Mauve, Karen, Lilly, Sam, and I know I'm missing a few other aunts and uncles, I just can't think of their names. It definitely was a big family Christmas. We all sat down for lunch, which might I say was delicious, and before we ate we opened up these bon-bon christmas firecracker things. They were pretty cool. Each one comes with a bad joke, a crown that you wear, and a other little surprise like a puzzle or measuring tape. I don't know what the crowns symbolize in the pack, but I like to think it's meant to make one feel like royalty. After all, we did feast like kings. I think I'm still full from yesterday.

Christmas bon-bons, the prize is inside.

We all had a huge lunch at the Keighran-Neri house. I would compare it to the Christmas dinner my family eats every year, only with more vegetarian options. There was so much food that I had to try a little bit of everything. Okay, maybe a lot of everything. I restrained myself from grabbing seconds, but dessert killed me. There was a mouth-watering tiramisu, and some other mango dessert from Brazil. Everything was just amazing. I debated finding a nice quiet place where I could give in to my food coma, but I couldn't bring myself to get up. I'm sure I dozed off a few times, but can you really blame a girl?

I wasn't prepared at all for what would happen next. Liana, Madeline, Liam, Aidan, and I would all go over to Liana's dad's house for another feast, of the dinner kind. Rodi made an amazing vegetarian lasagna with pumpkin. I swear I can still taste it. But that wasn't the only thing there. In fact, I would venture to say there was probably just as much food for half the amount of people. His mother kept trying to feed me all night; little did she know my stomach was about to burst if I ate anything else.

We then went into the family room and curled up on the couch for some R&R and to watch the Christmas classic National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It's official, I can quote the whole movie in my head. It was a great way to feel at home in a foreign country. The long day finally ended when Liana's mother picked us us to bring us back to bed. I'm going to be honest, I don't remember falling asleep. That's how tired/full I was.

Cheers, mate.