First Christmas in NZ

For the kids and me, this was our first Christmas in NZ.  It has has been one of the many firsts since arriving in July.  It was significant in many ways.  it was the first time all of C's family were together with all the Grandkids which was a nice first.

For me, I have to say it was very different.  I am having a hard time making new associations with the time of year/seasons and holidays.  It is literally opposite of what I have been used to my entire life.  Christmas is cold, cozy, hot chocolate, dark evenings, christmas lights on houses, snow, etc.  And now it is hot, sunny, long days, summer, no lights to go and look at, beach days, etc.  It is summer and my mind makes me think it is July.  So it is hard to get into the spirit or feel of Christmas.  I have a few expat friends here and they say they feel the same way.  So we are just making new associations with Christmas.  Since the kids aren't that old, they don't have any strong associations set in place.  I just can't talk in seasons anymore.

 There aren't too many house that put up decorations or lights.  I think mainly because you can't see the lights because the sun sets so late.  But I did find a lit of kiwi in some garden decorations.  That was a first.

School is out!!  Archie was happy that he is now on a break!  Since they missed summer in the US and started school immediately, they basically haven't had a break in 15 months.

 We have lots of time to enjoy as a family and of course lots of popsicles or "ice blocks" as they call them here.

 I have a tree and set of ornaments from when I was a kid that my mom gave me.  The kids not love decorating the tree.  It is really sweet that they get to do this now.

 We made cookies.  Lots of fun but a little too many this year!  And they put lots of frosting and candy on them as well!  They enjoy making and decorating but don't really eat them.  Whose kids are these?!?!?!!

 And I finally got the tree relit.  It isn't perfect but it look better than being half lit!  I still have to get a skirt and tree topper but we are getting there.  The kids loved decorating and redecorating the tree.  It is fun to take out the ornaments and talk about where they are from.  Each kid has "their" ornaments that they like to put on the tree.

So school ended and we had one week off.  And the following week, we went down to Hawkes Bay to spend the time with C's parents and his sister's family.  Before we left we started receiving Christmas cards from friends in the US.  I was organized enough to get them sent in the US via a US online company.  I didn't get any sent to NZ.  That will be next year!

 We arrived at C's parents' house and the kids immediately were outside playing.  There is a lot of green space and the kids played a lot of good games outside.

 We even had a wood burning stove that Santa can get down (unless he just comes in the door).   Nana and JimBob set up a nice tree and lights for the presents to go under for the kids.

 On Christmas eve, we had C's Aunt and Uncle visit and brings some goodies for the kids.  They were very happy to receive lots of candy canes. 😳  They were SO HAPPY.

 Archie and T with their new holiday glasses.

 We took the kids to Napier to go to the scooter park.  It was actually cold so there were no other kids around.  Archie and Sylvie loved the park.  It was flat and was set up just like a road to practice their road rules.  There was even a stop lights that had sensors in the pavement to know when they were waiting.

 We went to a cafe and had a nice flat white while the kids had some fluffies.

The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins and spent hours and hours hanging out.  It is really great being able to get them together so often.

 This is Christmas Eve.  The kids have their new pjs on (one of our traditions picked up from the Darlings).  They have put out the cookies and milk for Santa as long as some food for the reindeer on the grass.

 Stockings set out for Santa

 Auntie Jane reading to the kids before they go to bed.

 Christmas morning was all about the kids as it should be.  It luckily wasn't too crazy even though there was a lot of gifts in a short amount of time.  

We had a great Christmas and the kids had a great time.   The kids are starting to remember times and places and I am sure they will remember this Christmas and likely will remember it more than our US and Netherlands Christmas.  For them, it is pretty great that the summer holidays are now the Christmas holidays too.  

December and the end of the School Year

I pulled out the Christmas tree and plugged it in but learned quickly that the lights were not able to work in NZ.  They all burned out quickly....very quickly.  Luckily I watched them flicker and die and before they started a fire.  So I had to take off all the lights and buy all new lights.  This took me a few weeks as it is quite a lot of work to undo a pre-strung tree. But it looks good now!

The old string of lights burning out

One Campbell's friend owns the local bakery in our little village.  I hadn't seen him since we were at a wedding in NZ 10 years ago.  It was nice to see him and he gave me a fruit cake.  Nothing like the ones in the US.  

Archie and his buddy Andrew.  They are such good friends and can play all day in their own little imaginative worlds.  Super happy that Archie is making such nice friends at school.

 And Sylvie has a great friend Molly.  They have had quite a few play dates and really get along well.  And luckily her mom is a good friend of mine as well.  It is really nice meeting people thru the kids friends.

Looking at wind chimes at the garden center.  We were out getting more lights for the tree!

We made Christmas cookies and the kids enjoyed eating quite a few.

We put up the advent calendar that Grandma Didi made for them.  They really enjoyed putting up the daily ornaments.

 And the pohutakawa trees began to bloom.  They bloom at Christmas and are the sign that it is the start of summer.  They are really pretty and this picture doesn't do it justice.

We went out to the local park for a Christmas concert in the park.  It is actually the largest city park and there were something like 100k people there.  C was traveling so we packed up and drove in to some area nearby, and walked a way into the park.  We met our good friends who go every year and had a good place in the back.  It was a lot of fun listening while the kids ran around and played.  

 Katheryn and her kids.  Our kids actually get along and play really well.  They make this event a yearly event and it was super nice that they invited us to join them.  We brought a picnic dinner and enjoyed evening.

And before we left there was a great sunset with the music.  Good evening out with friends.  I am glad we made the trek out and the kids were troopers!

Archie picked out his hat for the upcoming Christmas party.  We went back to the store and all the hats he had tried on and they were gone.  So he settled on the one left.  A little sad but we will be more prepared next year!

Christmas means parties at school and crackers for fun!

 Archie's party and sitting with his buddy!

 Sylvie's party with Mrs. Cran!

 And the kids then had a great assembly where they sang songs.  It was super cute and they sung the riding shotgun song.  

And here is 1/3 of the tree re-lit with SO many lights.  It took me so long to get it right!  Not to many, not to spread out, not too close, etc.  

And what a nice present from Air New Zealand!  One perk of C traveling so much!

 I went and got and iced coffee.  Apparently this is a blended coffee with cream (or as we call in in the US, a frappacino).  I enjoyed it but will specify next time that I would like coffee over ice! :)

 The kids finished off their tennis lessons.  They both really enjoyed it but Archie really expressed an interest in it.  They will take lessons again and I am glad it was a success for them.

 Sylvie was awarded the "Citizenship" award for her class for the entire school year.  The school places a big importance on being a good person and living up to the school values.  Each teacher picked the student in their class that deserved the award and it was Sylvie.

I made her take a photo with her dear teacher, Mrs. Cran.  She is such an amazing teacher and the kids LOVE her.  Sylvie doesn't really like attention so she was a little upset that she had to pose but I am glad that I made it her do it.

And this was a really proud moment for our girl.  She didn't really know what to do with all the attention.  After this photo, she had a massive meltdown and we barely made it home.  Luckily I drove that day!  

And with that, the end of the school year was done.  We went down to the beach and got an ice block from the dairy and sat on the boardwalk.  It was a very kiwi afternoon.  The kids had done so well with the move and are finished with their partial year at school.  It will be exciting to see the next school year.  They will have 7 weeks of school break and summer.  It is a lot different than the US where it is more like 2 1/2 months.    So bring on the break and all the summer fun!