Merry Xmas!!!

It's that time of year again for my family, and I can't wait to see everyone again!

When I was little, every second year in December we would pack the car and head to country Victoria where my cousins lived. The other years they would come to Melbourne to celebrate Christmas together.

We would all jam into the one house and spend the days swimming, running about, opening presents and eating ourselves silly. At night the kids would find a space on the floor, unroll the sleeping bags and tell spooky stories all night.

The adults would sit around the big table joking and telling stories all night too. It was wonderful going to sleep with raucous laughter in your ears.

As the years have gone by, the already huge family has expanded and we can't possibly fit in the one place, so we started hiring out school camp style venues. Quite a few of my uncles/aunts/cousins are teachers so we have access to lots of places across the state.

One year we stayed at a Hospitality Tradeschool - most of the students had left for the holidays so we moved into the dormitories and had the working restaurant all to ourselves. It was great not having to worry about feeding the masses but we drunk the cellar out of red wine the first night we were there.....and they doubled the prices 2 years later.

After a few years of missing family members that couldn't get time off in December, we changed it to July and that's far easier. We stopped doing presents now but we will do a big swap of kids clothes and toys. There is a rocking duck (as opposed to horse) that was bought for me when I was 2 - it has gone through every single family and is about to be passed around the circle again as the cousins have children of their own. It's 35 years old, and still loved by everyone.

I can't wait to present my cousin with a beautiful dress bought in England by her mother 20 years ago. It was worn by both my girls and now it's time to pass it on again.

I LUUURVE Xmas in July, I lluuuurve my family and I can't wait to cuddle the newest members, freak out at how tall the boys are getting and sing karaoke with them till the early hours...


Cheers