Christmas in New Zealand is weird.

Basically - they are crazy for Christmas here. The decorations and shopping are similar. Santa Claus is alive and well (although at a recent Santa parade, he was too hungover so didn’t show up). There are more Christmas events than you can shake a Kauri stick at!

So far, Jen and I have attended or are planning to attend:

Christmas in the Park …….

Carols by the Sea

the Smales Farm Christmas Laser Light Show

Christmas at the Bruce Mason Center

Christmas at the Zoo

Christmas in the library

and a myriad of other Christmas activities!

Ella and Jen have thoroughly enjoyed this part of the Holiday season. Ella was particularly amusing at the Carols by the Sea where she felt it was necessary to go on stage to sing with all the people

The odd parts:

Everything has a Kiwi twist - reference the stories below. Also, it is almost summer here - yet, we still get to hear “White Christmas” and “Let it Snow” everywhere we go. Apparently, the Kiwi thing to do for Christmas is “go on Holiday” to a “Bach” on the beach. It’s basically beach week. The entire city clears out, and for a couple of weeks, it’s like MTV Spring Break at places like the Coromandel and Mt Maunganui.

So not to be left out, Jen and I will be taking Ella and Maggie on our own little holiday (just after Christmas) to a lovely place called Rotorua - once known as the Devil’s playground as it’s full of boiling mud pits, geysers, and other trecherous activities. We will keep you posted, but it should be nice getting out of the hotel for awhile and spending time with Mags and each other.

In other news - posted some links on the side to some new pictures we’ve posted as well as some amusing and useful Kiwi sites. If you hope to communicate with us when you visit, be sure to brush up on your Mauri!

Talk to everyone soon!

We thought you might like to share in the Kiwi Christmas experience, so here is the Kiwi’s version of the Night Before Christmas:

A Kiwi’s Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all round the bach (this is prounounced like ‘batch’ and is like a vacation house)
Not a possum was stirring; not one could we catch
We’d left on the table a meat pie and beer,
In hopes that Santa Claus soon would be here

We children were snuggled up in our bunk beds,
While dreams of pavlova danced in our head;
And Mum in her nightie, and Dad in his shorts,
Had just settled down to watch TV sports,

When outside the bach such a hoo-ha arose,
I woke up at once from my wonderful doze.
I ran straight to the sliding door, looking about,
Jumped out on the deck, and let out a shout!

The fairy lights Dad had strung up round the door
Let me see everything, down to the shore.
And what did I see, when I took a peep?
But a miniature tractor and eight tiny sheep,

With a little old driver, his dog on his knee (of course in the book this is a border collie).
I knew at once who this joker might be.
He patted the dog, and in a voice not unkind,
cried, “Good on ya, boy! Now, GIT IN BEHIND!”

“Now, Flossy!, now, Fluffy!, now Shaun and Shane!
On, Bossy! on, Buffy! on, Jason and Wayne!
Up that red tree, to the top of the bach!
But mind you don’t trample the vegetable patch.”

So up to the roof those sheep quickly flew,
With the tractor of toys, Santa and his dog too.
As my sister awoke and I turned around,
In through the window he came with a bound.

He wore a black singlet and little white shorts,
And stuck on hist feet were gumboots, of course;
A sackful of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a postie just opening his pack.

His eyes - bright as paua shell - oh, how they twinkled!
Like an old tuatara, his skin was all wrinkled!
He had a wide face and a round, fat tummy,
That looked like he’d eaten lots that was yummy.

He spoke not a word, but got down on one knee,
And placed a cricket set under the tree,
A present for Sis, one for Dad, one for Mum,
Then he turned and he winked and he held up his thumb;

He jumped on his tractor, to his dog gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, as fast as a missile.
I called out “Thanks,” as he flew past the gate.
He called back: “Kia ora to all, and good on ya, mate!”

Kris and I thought that we would try to get into the Christmas spirit a little bit this past Friday night by going to a free event called Carols by the Sea. They passed out carol sheets to everyone that came so that you could join in with the people leading the Christmas Carols. Kris and I were doing fine keeping up with everything until “The 12 days of Chistmas” came around. Apparently, the Kiwis’ version is a little bit different than the one that we are used to. If you can figure out what any of these things are, then please let us know because we are still clueless.

Here is what they sang: (and I swear I am not making this up)

On the First day of Christmas my true love gave to me
A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree
On the Second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two kumera
And a Pukeko in a Ponga Tree

3 Three Flax Kits
4 Four huhu grubs
5 Five Big Fat Pigs
6 Six pois a twirling
7 Seven eels a swimming
8 Eight plants of puha
9 Nine sacks of pipis
10 Ten juicy fish heads
11 Eleven haka lessons
12 Twelve piupius swinging

?!?!?!!?!?!?!?! So can you see now why we were a little lost while they were singing this version? I guess as time goes on, maybe we will discover what these things are so that this song makes a little more sense next Christmas.

Straying from New Zealand for a moment - there is something else happening in our lives that is pretty amusing. Our lovely daughter Ella has started to get a little vocabulary of her own. Right now she is an animal sound specialist, a food extraordinaire, and a master of interjections. She has also developed a language of her very own (so smart our child) and uses it as often as possible with strangers and friends alike.

New favorite words include:

“Cool-Cur” = I would like to color

“Bubbles” = Please give me Rice Crispies and/or These bath bubbles are awesome!

“Baba” = Give me my pacifier or I might just die

“Rahhhh” = The sound a lion makes

“Cookie”=you guessed it…

“Mine!”=We get in trouble because we are supposed to share

“Ree Da Book”=Read the book - now, please!

“Gawack, Gawack” = Gawack, Gawack - please let us know if you figure this one out! This is also complete with hand motions.

“Hi..(nonsense)..Milk..(nonsense)..Bye”=typical telephone conversation

Ella continues to be a joy to us each day, and as long as she has had a good nap, other people think so as well. We’ll keep everyone posted as her language progresses as she is learning new words every single day. Maybe we’ll have Ella on to write a note as a special guest soon.