Christmas

This year we were lucky enough to have Andrew and Stephen visit us for Christmas! It was a great visit and allowed Matty to spend lots of time with his uncles! The guys were here for almost a week before they left for the rest of their Aussie adventures, but we made sure to enjoy lots of relaxation, catching up, and sightseeing of a few of Canberra's highlights.

As with the past three Christmases we've experienced in Australia, the weather wasn't the best - 25C (at most) with overcast. We imagine the 'quintessential' hot and sunny Aussie Christmas does exist, but we've unfortunately not had the opportunity to experience one while posted here. Maybe someday... ;)

Christmas Party at Canadian High Commission

We were invited to the Canadian High Commission's Christmas party this year, hosted at the High Commissioner's home in Redhill. The home itself is located on Mugga Way, a street locally known as Canberra's Golden Mile. The area hosts palatial-style homes with selling prices starting at no lower than $3 million big ones. The Canadian HC's home is no exception. The home is located on a two-tired piece of land, with the home itself located on the bottom tier and the pool, pool house, and entertaining area located in the backyard on a top-tier overlooking the home.

Upon arrival, we were offered glasses of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. We were all told to bring our swimsuits for a pool party, but it was a bit cool (25C) for the adults to swim that day (though the children certainly took advantage of the large pool)! We mingled with our colleagues and some of the HC staff. The High Commissioner himself was only present towards the end of the evening, as it was the last evening of his post here in Canberra - so he was obviously pre-occupied with other things on his mind.

Following the champagne and hors d'oeuvres, we were invited inside the home for a Christmas buffet meal. The meal featured a mixture of traditional Canadian Christmas items (turkey, stuffing, cranberries, etc) mixed with Australian Christmas items (fish and seafood). It was a fantastic meal, and a beautiful home. Speaking of the home, it is quite clear that it was designed for entertaining. There was a whole section of the home dedicated directly for this purpose, including a staff kitchen and dining area. It was quite neat seeing the separation between the entertaining area and the actual area of the home where the HC and his family lived.

Following the Christmas meal, Santa arrived so we all headed back up to the pool area to meet with him and have him pass out presents to the kids. Unfortunately, Santa arrived ringing his bell loudly and shouting "HO, HO, HO" which did NOT impress Matty. He was scared of Santa from that moment forward. Nonetheless, we still got a photo or two of Matty sitting on his lap. Sure, Matty may be screaming his lungs out in fear while sitting on Santa's lap, but they're pictures we will treasure well into the future!

All in all, a great afternoon and evening hosted by the High Commission!