The big day had arrived and the best bit about a midsummer Christmas was feeling no pressure at all. There were no expectations and no rules. What there was, was a full and exciting pair of summer stockings waiting for the kids and a really big treaty breakfast with croissants and smoked salmon.
Mummy-Santa!
To the children’s delight the stockings were full! Most of the things in the stockings were pound shop type toys designed for the summer – like frisbees and water pistols. But they did have one special present each. They had been so good during the recent quarantine period in the UK that I had wanted to buy then something to say thank you. It was also Fathers Day and so the whole thing felt like a big celebration of our family and what had been and what was to come.
Pavlova Making
Mark is a Kiwi and he insisted that it can’t be a Kiwi Christmas without a Pavlova. My mother in law is no longer with us, but she had left us her Pavlova recipe in her church’s recipe book. It felt very special to make this and like we were honouring her. The whole idea of the day came from our midwinter Christmases which we had with her when we used to visit in our summer (their winter) holidays. Penny and Mark made the base the day before and then decorated it on the day – it was a triumph and we all thought it was the best we had ever had! If you fancy the recipe then do send me a message.
Beer Can Chicken
Mark had looked at various websites for this one as we wanted to make Christmas dinner a BBQ to really make it as Kiwi (or Aussie) as we could. In the end it was very simple. Heat the covered BBQ to 200 degrees, drink half the beer, stick the other half in the can up the chickens bum and stand it on the BBQ. We cooked it for a couple of hours to be safe but it could have used less. It was brilliant and easy and very very tasty.
Shrimps and Social Distancing
We decided to invite my parents. At the time of writing; families could meet in the UK outside and share a BBQ together. We, of course, had to cook some shrimps to make it nice and antipodean in place of Pigs in Blankets. The shrimps were perfectly cooked and to my delight Penny decided she wanted to eat some too which I was really pleased about as part of our pretend travelling is getting her to try new things. Freddie, by contrast, ate Yorkshire puddings and gravy cooked especially for him! Oh well…
Weather!
It’s the UK – so of course it rained and wasn’t the glorious sun that I had hoped for. We didn’t go inside (because of the UK quarantine rules) but stuck it out and prayed the big umbrella would protect us. Luckily it wasn’t cold. There is something uniquely British about sitting in the rain eating BBQ chicken. I imagine the real Aussies and Kiwis would laugh. Pityingly.
Fathers Day
Our Midsummer Christmas fell on Father’s Day which made it a double celebration and a great way to say thanks to my dad who has done so much for me. I bought him a Lordship for his present much to my mums alarm. It was nice that we were able to spend the day with my parents after the recent lockdown and family has never felt so important.
Crackers and Games
My mum had personalised all the crackers which she had saved for years when she had one of two left over. I actually think making summer crackers and buying personalised gifts to go in them could be a really fun task for older children too and a way to get them involved. We didn’t do this, but Penny did make Christmas place markers for everyone so they would know where to sit (and we could avoid a social distancing crisis).
Music for a Summer Christmas
There are some fun Australian and New Zealand Christmas songs if you have a quick search around iTunes. Here are some good ones to start you off!
And so we were done. We immediately voted to make this a family tradition and we are all very genuinely looking forward to next year already! You can read all about our Midsummer Christmas Eve here.
