The first time was on holiday and, quite frankly, it felt like we were playing truant or something - as if we'd snuck off from everyone and had a holiday in the sun without asking permission. It was supposed to be a one off, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something to tick off the bucket list. Not that I had one. But if I had, there would be one less item on it. And once done we were supposed to be back to normal.
Yet here I am, sitting on the deck of our house in Auckland and looking out over the Hauraki Gulf as Christmas approaches once again. And once again, it feels nothing like Christmas. It's as if Christmas is happening somewhere else and we're just watching from a distance. Which I suppose from a certain viewpoint we are.
There are a number of work colleagues who have been in New Zealand a lot longer than us, ten years or more in some cases, and they say it still doesn't feel festive. I guess a 'traditional' Christmas is hard-wired into the psyche of anyone raised in the northern hemisphere. Mind you, although they say they miss it, I don't see any of them jumping onto an aeroplane and heading away from a blossoming Kiwi summer into the depths of a British winter.
So what exactly does Christmas in New Zealand feel like? As this is our third I do feel a bit more qualified to express and opinions. Not that the lack of a qualification has stopped me expressing an opinion in the past!
Well, there seems to be a lot less fuss around the festive period; less stress, no fretting over whether the correct gifts have been bought or if there is enough food in the cupboards to last through the wilderness of two days without a shop being open. It seems to be more about taking it easy, seeing friends and just going with the flow.
And it's rubbed off on us. We haven't even thought about what to eat on Christmas Day. It hasn't even crossed my mind. 'She'll be right' and in fact, in the time it has taken me to write this sentence, I have decided that we're going to have a barbecue - some nice meat, salad, maybe some roast Kumara. Easy as. There is still the option of Christmas pudding. Or ice cream. Or both.
So whilst I do miss the traditional Christmas - it feels appropriate to call it that - I don't miss the hassle, the weeks of preparation and the scrum that is supermarket shopping. It's nice to be able to really relax and not worry about it. The spend time spending time if you like.
And I know this makes us incredibly lucky, especially as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend Christmas in the sun is coming around for a third time. Will there be a fourth? Who knows. Certainly not us. And so, if this is to be the last, we'd better make the most of it. Starting now..... there's a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge with my name on it.....
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