On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

 

So far for our 12 Days of Christmas Around the World we have been to:

 

Day 1: New York

 

Day 2: Indiana

 

Day 3: and California so far.

 

Today we are heading to New Zealand to celebrate the holidays with our very own Nic Howard!

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Hey there!  Thanks for joining me in this little journey through my New Zealand Christmas!

New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere which means it’s the total opposite in seasons for those of you living further North in the world!  It’s also opposite in daylight hours, with the longest day falling just before Christmas day; opposite in temperature, with Christmas being one of the warmest times of year; and even opposite in the school year – our children get out of school mid-December amongst cries of wooohoooo and yeeeeeha and they don’t go back until the start of February, as they celebrate the summer.

Christmas probably varies greatly for the people of New Zealand.  With summer comes the freedom of a lot of travel and most people take annual holiday time off work.  There are a few things that I know are traditional for most of us though.

 


A few things that are top of the New Zealand tradition list are the Pohutukawa Tree and also strawberries!  The Pohutukawa tree is known as the New Zealand Christmas tree as it lines of the coastlines of New Zealand and bursts into festive crimson blossoms at Christmastime. 

Strawberry season is in full swing at this time of year and everywhere there are BBQs with chocolate-dipped strawberries and desserts decorated with the biggest summer berries. 

The night before Christmas is very relaxed for us.  As a family we always watch “The Polar Express” and hang stockings around the Christmas tree.  We go outside in the warm evening and sprinkle baking flour in a large circle on the lawn – Santa needs to see where to land!  We leave carrots and a bucket of water for his reindeer and Santa is left a plate of goodies, often including chocolate and beer – it’s hot work in the Southern Hemisphere!    The children go off to bed as early as we can get them to, although when it’s light until 9 pm, and often hot and humid, it’s a tough job to get to sleep!




Christmas Day for us is all about family.  Christmas lunches and dinners often include lots of seafood, ham on the BBQ, salads, and gorgeous desserts.  The day is lazy and it’s all about catching up with people we don’t often see and celebrating the season.  The evening is especially casual for my family. It often is spent sitting in the sun, watching the kids riding their bikes, and having a few drinks with close friends and neighbours into the late hours.




While Christmas is always a time to celebrate family, it is the weeks soon after that are the most celebrated time for the Howard family!  Like many other families we pack up the car, get a house sitter in, and leave home for 2 weeks and go to the beach.  We fish, play, swim and enjoy the company of good friends.  The coastlines are full of other people enjoying their summer under the shade of the famous New Zealand Pohutukawa tree as well.

While it’s a very relaxed event for the Howard home, I’m sure there are a few things that all New Zealanders enjoy.  I chose one of them, the Pohutukawa, to create a layout about.  Look at the smiles on this boy's face; he just loves the beach at Christmas-time!

• 841218 Pastiche Heartstrings
• 841485 Flights of Fancy Blooming Happiness
• 841195 Pastiche Quirky
• 602284 Paintables
• 542016 Stamp
• 540180 White Innoscence
• 535926 Swirl
• 543051 Mountain Cotton Candy
• 540463 Rose leaves
• 881917 Viola
• 812010 Whispered Words White
• 541774 Alphabet

Thanks for joining me for my New Zealand Christmas! ~Nic

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We hope you are enjoying the traditions shared by each designer as we travel around Prima-style! Keep watching our blog as we go around the world for our 12 Days of Christmas! Where do you think we are headed next?

Comments

[AlyssaM]

That layout is gorgeous, Nic! I enjoyed reading about your Christmas very much. :)

[tara]

beautiful layout!!! always are :)...ummmm how about Texas?! lol

[Mart]

I am never disappointed with anything Nic creates...

[Jolaine Frias]

Thanks for sharing with us your Christmas traditions. Your LO is a work of art as usual!

[Patty O'Malley]

Oh, how I enjoyed reading your holiday traditions in New Zealand! The LO is gorgeous!

[mignonnie]

Your link to the prima marketing inc website is dead, where I think it should work, for I want to know what the assortment of flowers is, and I think that you cannot make scrap pages (lay outs) without the flowers for they are so much fun!

[Anabelle]

Gorgeous page, Nic. Loved learning all about an NZ Christmas!

[Misty Willis]

What a gorgeous tree! Those blooms are just amazing..and SCREAM Christmas time to me!
LOVE your magnificent layout, Nic, beautiful as ALWAYS...and thank you for sharing your Christmas!
>>>>>I am SOOOO glad you did...because just yesterday, my hubby and i were in a disagreement about the how Christmas is spent in other parts of the world. He just could not believe when I told him that New Zealand is warm, beach going, bathing suit wearing time in December! LOL! I get to show him your post now! THANK YOU!!! LOL

[Daniela]

How wonderful to know that it's so different in other parts of the world. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Sharman P]

Hi Nic,
Sharmanscraps here. Read your Christmas
tradition and so enjoyed knowing how you
celebrate the season living oh so far away
from Phoenix, AZ. Thanks for sharing and
great layout as usual. Miss you and your classes at BPC. Cannot wait for the next one.

[Allanah]

Gorgeous Layout....love it!