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We share lots of Christmas related ideas, recipes and crafts in the Love Santa blog. You are welcome to comment or submit your own Christmas stories, too.

12 Aussie days of Christmas

I know someone else posted about the 12 days of Christmas, but I heard a different version today at school so I thought I’d try and remember it for you.

My true love brought to me…

one lyrebird in a gum tree

two beach umbrellas

three splashing swimmers

four …

five banana chairs

six …

seven …

eight crazy chickens

nine…

ten…

eleven pairs of thongs

twelve …

Ok, so there’s a lot I forgot so I’ll see if I can get the rest to fill in the gaps!

Christmas songs at school

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 practised – 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.Santa and children singing carols

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!

Deck the sheds this 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

cute boy dressed as Santa's elf by a gum tree

Santa’s Elf ready to decorate a gum tree…

Whack some gum leaves in a bottle, falala lalala lalala
All the shops are open sundies, falala lalala lalala
Buy your Dad some socks 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 Abu dabi, 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 you’re able, falala lalala lalala
Joyce and Joany, Dave and Daryl, falala lalala lalala
Sing an Aussie Christmas carol, falala lalala lalala

Jingle Bells – Aussie style!

Here is another carol that’s been Aussiefied! So just for fun, here is an alternative version of Jingle Bells without a snowflake in sight and an esky to refresh you all…

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

rusty ute in teh bush decorated for Christmas

A real Christmas 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

Jingle Bells - Aussie style!

Reduce stress…

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…

Easy-in-advance-lasagne recipe

If you need to take a dish to a Christmas function, but know you won’t have time to cook anything at the time, why not cook it sooner and freeze it? Then just pull it out of the freezer in time for the event – a great back up for unexpected visitors over the holiday season, too. This is an easy to make lasagne that freezes nicely…

Easy, prepare-in-advance lasagne

2kg mince meat plus 2 large jars of prepared sauce and 1 large tin tomato puree*
4kg cheese – a combination of two works well, especially if one is mozzarella for the stringy effect!
2kg penne, ziti or other tube pasta

make a layer of meat sauce

cover with pasta

cover with cheese

cover with sauce

repeat until the pan is full and/or you run out of ingredients, but make sure cheese is the top layer. Wrap tightly and freeze.

Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes, plus 5 minutes uncovered – longer if cooking from frozen.

* If you have time, add chopped vegies into the sauce for more flavour and to make it a complete meal when serving it.

Christmas accessories

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?

Christmas shopping…

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?

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is celebrated differently between families; each family having different rituals and traditions that are passed down over the years.

Some people open presents on Christmas Eve, some on Christmas Day and others after Christmas.Little girl in a Santa hat opening a Christmas gift

And others dance around their tree and sing songs as part of their celebrations.

My family doesn’t even have a tree at Christmas, we decorate the fireplace and chimney!

Though it is for the same thing, each family celebrates this day (well month really) in slightly different ways.

I’m curious as to what other people do – are we the only ones without a tree?

* Image courtesy of 123rf

Win a Santa Letter

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

Being green at Christmas

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. 🙂

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Order Cut Off Dates

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Order now to be sure of delivery before Christmas. Keep an eye on our blog for final ordering days as we get close to Christmas Eve.

 

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