It's December and nearly Christmas!!!
Feliz Natal!! Joyeux Noël 메리 크리스마스 Feliz Navidad メリークリスマス
Fröhliche Weihnachten
Our end of the year celebration was truly special!! Our families headed to the beach to reproduce a truly Kiwi Summer's Day! We all met at the playground which gave time for the kids to run around and have fun together. The weather wasn't really typical of a Summer's day.... what a shame....but it didn't stop us having fun!! We decided not to go down to the beach for our picnic so we camped at the grass sheltering from the persistent wind!
It was lovely to hear the families sharing stories about Christmas in our own countries and how it compares to New Zealand. In Brazil we also have a very hot Christmas as it's Summer there too - Southern Hemisphere. But places like England, France and Germany, for example, in the Northern Hemisphere have a very cold Christmas and sometimes even a white Christmas with snow falling in some areas of the countries...
When I immigrated with my family to New Zealand, a friend gave us a lovely book/cd called "A Kiwi Jingle Bells" by Yvonne Morrison and Deborah Hinde. It is just a really sweet story about a traditional Kiwi family spending a day over Christmas Holiday on the beach doing all "Kiwi" things. The International Children's Group had a great time trying to reproduce this day with a picnic where everyone brought a bit of the kiwi snacks and we ended the day with a Fish & Chips dinner together. Kids had a game of touch of course, a bit of cricket and parents joined them too for a traditional "Bat Down" game - someone pitches the ball, you try to hit it and everyone (but batter) tries to get the ball. When ball is collected, batter puts bat down and persons with the ball has to roll it at the bat, if it hits they get to be batter, if not, you go again. Great fun!!
Have a look at the song on the book I copied below. I'm sure you have done some of these activities or eaten some of these food! If not, try this Summer with the family! Have a good one! Pictures of the day on the bottom.
Thank you to all the families members of the International Children's Group! We had a great year and I can't wait to start planning our meetings for 2016!! Merry Christmas!!
Dashing to the bay,
on a Kombi campervan,
Christmas at the beach -
the family's master plan.
Dad is at the wheel
and Mum sits by his side,
we kids are squabbling in the back
as we go for a ride.
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in New Zealand on a sunny summer's day, ay!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh what fun is to have a kiwi holiday!
We stop at the shops,
to load the chilly bin,
hockey-pockey ice cream
soon dribbles down my chin.
We jump into the van,
heading for the shore,
Dad fiddles with the radio
to hear the cricket score.
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells...
Soon we're at at he beach,
our rellies shout "G'day!"
We swap our christmas pressies
A boogie board - hooray!
We change into our togs,
and to the sea we run...
what a joy to splash and swim,
summer's so much fun!
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells.....
The grown-ups call us in,
they've laid us out a spread:
lunch is fish 'n' chips
and cheerios in bread
L&P to drink
pavlova, pud and pie
Anzac bikkies, choccy fish
- it's cracker Kiwi kai!
Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells....
The kids are keen to play,
but the Dads all went to nap,
the sunscreen starts to fly,
as Mums go slip-slop-slap.
We race out to the sand,
to play a game of touch,
but all the cuzzies are too slow,
because they ate too much!
Oh jingle bells, jingle bells ....
The barbecue heats up,
the sun begins to sink,
our tea's as good as gold,
we've scoffed it in a wink.
It's nearly time for bed,
we've had an awesome day,
celebrating Christmas time
the real New Zealand way!
Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells....
