A Very Aussie Christmas

Christmas for me is usually a time for sharing and giving especially with family members. Unfortunately, since my husband and I moved to South Australia a few years ago, we did not have any family to share our Christmas celebrations with. Whenever Christmas approaches, we would often start to miss our family back in Malaysia and would wonder what they are doing during this festive season.

Although we do miss our family back home during Christmas time, we have to be thankful because since we arrived in South Australia, we never celebrated Christmas alone.

I was amazed by the amount of hospitality shown by our local Aussie friends who always made sure we had somewhere to go to during Christmas. When Christmas is near, we would always get invitations to our Aussie friends’ family reunion dinners/lunches so that we do not feel left out during this important occasion.

Spending Christmas reunion dinners/lunches with local Australians are a good experience because it helps us to understand more about the local food and culture.

A typical Australian reunion dinner/lunch will usually comprise of cold meats such as hams or roast turkey slices, dips and crackers, mixed nuts and nibbles as well as a large range of cold salads. As it is summer time in Australia in December, it is pretty obvious that most Aussie families would prefer to have cold meals for their reunions. However, there are no fast and fixed rules when it comes to dessert preferences. A traditional dessert would usually be a deliciously rich Christmas pudding served with a dollop of custard. However, not everybody would stick to having Christmas puddings for Christmas.

Here are photos of some of the food we ate during our Christmas reunion dinners/lunches with our Aussie friends in 2013:

Lovely Christmas decorations at the dining table

A typical Australian Christmas reunion meal

A slice of traditional Christmas pudding and ice-cream

What was your Christmas celebration like in 2013? Was it an enjoyable experience? I hope it was.

Cheers,

Caroline Poh

Barmera Main Street Comes to Life at Christmas Pageant 2013

The usually quiet Barmera Main Street suddenly came to life during the Barmera Christmas Pageant 2013 held on 13 December 2013 at Barmera, Riverland, South Australia. 

The lively event attracted many visitors from around the Riverland region and also from elsewhere to spectate the array of fun-filled activities that were specially organised to bring out a high-spirited Christmas mode amongst them. 

At the start of the pageant, vintage car enthusiasts were enthralled as owners of stylish-looking vintage cars drove along the Barmera Main Street to showcase their prized possessions. 

The vintage car procession was followed by a beautiful float parade. During the parade, members from the local community, churches, schools, clubs, associations and businesses proudly paraded their floats as they moved merrily along the streets of Barmera town. Children gathered around them to receive a generous share of lollies from the float parade participants to fulfill their Christmas wishes. 

The adults and senior citizens were not left out. Some went home happily with some free pot plants to complete their gardens. Some had a good time catching up with their family and friends while grabbing a quick bite from some of the street stalls. 

The pinnacle of the event was its magical kaleidoscope of fireworks. Visitors were captivated while watching the spectacular fireworks displays which were displayed overlooking beautiful Lake Bonney. To enhance the magical moment, the animated fireworks were displayed together with melodious songs to accompany them. 

I was particularly impressed by this year’s float parade and unique firework displays. I especially loved watching the firework displays this year as it had a unique twist to it when the fireworks suddenly turned into a shape of a waterfall halfway during the show. 

Barmera Christmas Pageant 2013 Vintage Car Show

Barmera Christmas Pageant 2013 Float Parade

Santa Claus and his new pet dog at the pageant

The mesmerising fireworks displays managed to conclude my night with complete bliss. It was truly a memorable experience attending such an enjoyable event like this. 

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all those who have helped to make the Barmera Christmas Pageant 2013 a success. Good job to all of you! You made my day. 

Cheers,

Caroline Poh