Today, I went to an afternoon tea at my children’s school - it was to thank parents and others who do things to support the school, such as go on excursions and help with reading programs. During the afternoon, various classes came in and sang Christmas songs for us.

it was lovely to hear them sing, and watch the actions they had obviously practiced - they were so cute! The joy on their faces to be doing something for us, as well as the fun of the songs, was great, too.

The grade 1 classes sang “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”- and at least a third of them actually had front teeth missing so the song was a good choice

That’s Christmas should be - people sharing good times, children laughing and having fun, and people happily doing something special for others. May you and your children have a happy Christmas!

I came across another Christmas song that now has an Australian twist to it…

Deck the sheds with bits of Wattle, falala lalala lalala
Whack some gum leaves in a bottle, falala lalala lalala
All the shops are open sundies, falala lalala lalala
Buy your Dad some sox and undies, falala lalala lalala

Deck the sheds with bits of gum tree, falala lalala lalala
Hang some decos off the plum tree, falala lalala lalala
Plant some kisses on the missus, falala lalala lalala
Have a ripper Aussie Christmas, falala lalala lalala

Say g’day to friends and rellies, falala lalala lalala
Wave them off with bulging bellies, falala lalala lalala
Kids and babies youngies oldies, falala lalala lalala
May your fridge be full of coldies, falala lalala lalala

Chop the wood and stoke the barbie, falala lalala lalala
Ring the folks in Abudabe, falala lalala lalala
Pop the stuffing in the turkey, falala lalala lalala
Little Mary’s feeling ercky, falala lalala lalala

Rally, rally round the table, falala lalala lalala
Fill your belly while your able, falala lalala lalala
Joyce and Joany, Dave and Daryl, falala lalala lalala
Sing an Aussie Christmas carol, falala lalala lalala

Here is another carol that’s been Aussiefied!

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It’s summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

Chorus:
oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia
on a scorching summer’s day
jingle bells, jingle bells
Christmas time is beaut
oh what fun it is to ride
in a rusty Holden ute

Engine’s getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

Chorus

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

Chorus

This isn’t directly Christmassy, but the lead up to Christmas can be very stressful for some people - the end of year tasks, school holdiays starting, more social engagements, Christmas shopping and so on all add up.

Santa is all about sharing happiness, so here are some great ways to reduce your stress this December…

• let go of your stressors on some beautiful leaves (better in Autumn, but it’s a lovely thought and maybe some bark would be a good alternative.) Thanks to Jennifer for this lovely idea and inspiration
• take some water therapy - minimising your water use of course!
• take time to appreciate life and forget your worries for a moment
• read some positive thoughts -and share your own - in teh well of positivity and help brest cancer research at the same time
• decorate a Christmas tree or your house
• wrap a gift for someome less fortunate
• look through photos of Christmas past and enjoy some memories
• watch children sit on Santa’s lap a the shops, etc - their delight is fun to see
• do some yoga, tai chi or other relaxing movements
• join a laughing group/club - at least try it once!
• tell someone what makes them beautiful - and automatically help women with cancer
• watch the sun rsie or set - better, watchboth in the same day
• give a hug
• smile!
• turn off your mobile phone and emails at least one night a week

And share your ideas on ways to relax this December…

When going to Christmas parties and functions, do you get into the Christmas spirit with what you wear?

Some ways to dress in the spirit are:

• tinsel in your hair or as a bracelet
• red and green earrings - gift or tree shaped in particular
• find clothes with a christmas message/picture - t-shirts are common
• wear red and green outfits
• tie on some bells - try your shoes, hair, ears, necklace or buttons
• put on a santa hat

What other ways have you shown your Christmas spirit?

How is your Christmas shopping going? The more you can do before 1 December, the better. Why?

• it avoids the need to go to the shops during those crazy, busy December days (and nights)
• it spreads out the expense of Christmas
• you can save money if you buy things on special rather than the day before you need them
• you have more time to realise you forgot something and grab it before you actually need it!

Other than perishable foods, do you try to get everything bought before December?

Love Santa personalised letters are a wonderful way to brighten someone’s Christmas. And you could win a Love Santa letter just by contributing a story or tradition to this very blog.

This fantastic way to brighten a day is drawn every month, and has great meaning now it’s only 12 weeks until Santa himself is climbing down your chimney.

So simply click here to find out how to Share Your Story and go in the running to win a personalised Santa Letter

Christmas is a time of celebrations, family and fun. It’s easy in these times to forget about water and energy conservation, but conserving our resources is a year round activity.

Some easy ways to save energy of the summer holiday period are:

- Use curtains to keep out the sun and a fan to move the air rather than turning on an air conditioner or evaporative cooler
- Serve directly onto plates instead of serving platters so there are fewer dishes to wash
- Have a container ready for plates to be scraped into rather than rinsing them
- Consider dry flower or fruit arrangements instead of filling large vases with water for fresh flowers
- Use wine glass charms or another method to distinguish glasses so people can use the same one instead of washing glasses all day

And it doesn’t have to stop there! You can use alternative wrappings for presents instead of using so much paper, perhaps a nice tea towel, table cloth, hanky or scarf. You could even give some water saving gifts such as a tap timer or an efficient shower head. We have a few more ideas listed in our article on saving water at Christmas, too.

Christmas is only 12 weeks away, so now is the time to sit down and plan out your Christmas and make it practical and environment friendly.

We all know that Santa lives in the North Pole…But where did he originally come from? The main question is…Where and how was Santa born?

Santa’s origins begin in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a very generous man who was particularly devoted to children. It is said that he wanted to give money to the poor but didn’t want them to know it was him, so one day he climbed on top of houses and dropped purses of money down the chimneys. Though he passed away and was buried he was later stolen in 1087 which increased his popularity.

The reputations of Saint Nicholas’ kindness grew so muc hthat people began to think that he could perform miracles. He became the patron saint of Russia where he became known for his flowing red cape and his pushy beard. He became known as a saint across many countries due to his generosity.

In Holland the legend of Saint Nicholas was kept alive and they spelt his name as Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes beside the fireplace at night and Sinterklaas would reward the good children by putting lollies in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought the tradition to America in the 17th century and the Anglican name of Santa Clause was brought about.

So after being born in the 4th century and having his remains stolen, Saint Nicholas has truly travelled across the globe to become the Santa Clause that we know today.

We have a very diverse Community here in Australia, and I thought it would be nice to have a blog on different holidays that are celebrated around the world at about the same time as Christmas.

Christmas - December 25th
Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Though in most places the celebration is not considered to be the actual date of Christ, in most places around the world Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In Germany and some other countries, the main Christmas celebrations commence on the evening of the 24th. During the Christmas season, people traditionally exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees. The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ.

Hanukkah - starts December 21st
Hanukkah means “dedication” or “consecration”, and is also called “The festival of Lights”, is a Jewish festivity that lasts eight days starting on the 25th day of Kislev which normally occurs late November or early December.

Eid-al-Adha - Muslim Holiday - December 19th
Eid-al-Adha or “The festival of sacrifice” is a three day feast that follows the Pilgrimage to Mecca. It is a religious festival conducted by Druze and Muslims across the globe and is a commemoration of God’s forgiveness of Ibrahim (Abraham) from his vow to sacrifice his own son as was commanded by Allah.

Kwanzaa - December 26th
Kwanzaa (Quansa) is a holiday celebrated by many African-Americans. It is a week long festival that runs from December 26th through to January 1st.

It was started in 1966 by Doctor Maulana Karenga. Karenga established Kwanzaa as a means to help the African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of “African traditions” and “common humanist principles.” There are 7 principles of Kwanzaa, and each day represents a different one of the principles. First principle is Unity, followed by self determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and lastly is faith.

Bodhi Day - Usually December 8th
Bodhi Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha,Siddhartha Gautama, experienced enlightenment, also known as Bodhi.

The prince, Siddhartha Gautama, left his home, family and all his possessions behind at the age of twenty-nine to go look for the meaning of life. After six years, and still not finding what he was looking for, he sat down under a pipal tree and vowed not to arise until he understood his purpose in life. He sat through the week, day and night, and on the eighth morning came to the realization which became the founding principles of what the world now calls Buddhism.

Last night, the TV show 20 to 1 featured the top 20 crazy customs we keep. And one of the customs they listed was putting up Chirstmas lights on the outside of our houses!

They showed many examples of decorated houses, including the incredible displays in Deck the Halls (2006 movie) and a Chevy Chase film from the late 80s. There were also a number of interviews with celebrities about what they thought of extravagant displays of Christmas lights.

It was interesting how some people were amazed at the time and expense people went to, while others thought it was part of the magic of Christmas. There was also mention of the competitive nature of Christmas lights in some places - one person has 20 lights so there neighbour has to put up 25, and so on!

Apparently, there is one Australian town (Casino in NSW) where a particular family is not allowed to put up lights anymore - well, at least not to enter the local lights competition as no one could ever beat their display! That doesn’t seem to fit the spirit of competition or Christmas!

There was no mention of communities and neighbourhoods that work together to provide Christmas joy - streets where there is unity so families can visit a number of displays in one place.

Does your area compete over Christmas lights or work together? Do you think one way or the other gets better or more impressive light displays?

There is nothing more loving and special as a gift than something hand made specifically for the recipient. Of course, if they are skilled crafters, the gift is truly valuable, lol!

If you are anything like me, there is no way you could sit down in December and start making some lovely gifts for people - who has that much time in December?

So this year I figure I might get started early by starting some craft projects now when I am relaxed (holidays are wonderful things!) I found a few needlework projects relating to Christmas but then I figured it didn’t have to have a Christmas theme to be a Christmas present, lol, so I’m going to ‘catch a falling star’ instead.

And I’m also looking for inspiration for a scrapbooking page that I may create as a hanging picture for my parents and in laws. Figure its a unique gift for people who just buy anything they want or need during the year!