I do remember in the UK that all the shops were full of Christmas decorations and playing Christmas songs from Sep/Oct onwards. The TV and newspapers were showing Christmas adverts for months before the event itself. The radio stations were continuously playing the same Christmas songs over and over for weeks before. People kept telling me that they'd finished their Christmas shopping in early November.
Or maybe it just felt like that? Either way, I know it started way to early and I was already bored of it all by December!
Strangely, when we lived in the Falkland Islands it went completely the other way and felt like Christmas didn't begin until Christmas Eve! (Or was it just me who felt this way?)
In NZ Christmas usually begins around about the beginning of December, and I quite like it this way. I haven't really been exposed to much commercial Christmas stuff yet, apart from a few pieces of junk mail this week. My normal radio station's still playing One Direction, Pitbull and Katy Perry. There's a poster up the road telling us to come and sing carols on our picnic blanket on the 15th of December. Alfie's got his school Christmas concert this week. But other than that, not that many signs of festivity yet....
So life continues for us as normal, ie an endless round of work, school, playdates, sporting activities, coffee, wine, more coffee, more wine, etc etc!
Jake's just back from doing the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge - a 160km circumnavigation of Lake Taupo in the central North Island. After months of hard training he was stoked to complete it in 5 hours 18 mins and said it was a beautiful ride - but he also says he won't be doing it again!!
Meanwhile Molly is trying to follow in her Daddy's footsteps, and has signed up for the Weetbix Try-athlon in March! So we've been doing a bit of training at weekends...(she tends to give up after about 50m so I fear she's got a very long way to go until she's ready!)
She's also decided that she wants to walk up Mt Kau Kau, our local mountain, every Sunday (?). She's been up two weekends running so far - so now I have a lovely little hiking buddy. Long may this enthusiasm continue!
And at this time of year we've got lovely long, warm evenings and we've been enjoying some beautiful sunsets in our back garden. Next we need to finally buy some outdoor furniture so we can sit and enjoy instead of stand - but we're getting there, so watch this space...!
We're just starting to get a little bit into the Christmas spirit now as well. I wrote and posted most of my international cards this week, and the kids left letters to Santa by the chimney the other night.
At this time of year, all schoolkids are always exhausted (End-of-Year-itis) and Alfie & Molly are no exception, so we're trying to do a few more relaxing after-school activities in the lead up to the end of term. We've got the Christmas jigsaw puzzle out and it's been engrossing the kids most afternoons...
Of course, relaxing afternoons don't always go to plan and today the jigsaw puzzle activities deteriorated suddenly into a massive water fight!
Followed by complete hysteria...
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