A kiwi Christmas

Can you believe it’s 2007! Where did the year go... I have lots to tell you but I'll start with Christmas.

Christmas this year was a very laid-back, relaxed day over on Waiheke Island at my uncle’s beach house with family. Normally we have it at my parent’s place but they’re currently homeless (deliberately - their new house is being built at the moment), so this was a nice alternative. We caught the ferry over at one and spent the rest of the day eating, basically. Oh, and giving presents! Highlight of the day of course…

My favourite presents:

• A webcam, which I’d asked for (now I can video chat with friends overseas)
• Vouchers towards an iPod from my bro
• Cool chunky martini glasses, all in different colours, also from my bro (he did good this year!)
  
• A set of Britney Spears Curious perfume
  

So that last one’s a little embarrassing – you normally choose a perfume based on some kind of attribute you’d like to have or be, ‘True Love’ or ‘Beautiful’ or whatever. There’s really nothing about Britney that I’d like to emulate, but I do like the smell. And also it comes in this cool retro bottle with a squeezy thing to spray it on. So I swallowed my pride and asked for it for Christmas, and really it’s probably my favourite of all my presents, even if it is a guilty pleasure.

I was really excited about some of the presents I gave this year too – I decided that I would rather give people ‘experiences’ rather than plain ‘stuff’ so this is what I came up with:

• For my uncle, his boyfriend and my aunt – tickets to Varekai when it comes to town in January
  

• For my father, a voucher for a private dance lesson in either Argentine tango or salsa. I was particularly delighted when I came up with this. He’s notoriously difficult to buy for and he doesn’t really want or need anything either. He’s starting to develop a serious pot-belly in his old age and really needs to drink a little less and move a little more. But it has to be something fun for him, otherwise he’ll never stick at it. And dancing just might be it – him and mum are quite the twinkle-toes at parties and family gatherings and often trot about the room when the music starts to play. And mum had already said that she’d love for them to do some tango together. So there you go – the perfect present. He and mum were both pretty stoked about that.

• For my mum I’m giving the experience of having lovely nails – a voucher for someone to come round and do a full set of acrylics for her. She’s always coveted beautiful nails, but hers are pretty weak, plus she’s a gardener so they get a good battering. I think she’ll enjoy having immaculate nails for a change.

• By the time it came to my brother and his girlfriend, I was a little out of inspiration, so to them I gave the experience of owning a Jamie Oliver flavour shaker. It still fits – they’re both foodies and love spicy meals, and this little nifty thing looks like a lot of fun. Sort of a mortar and pestle meets cocktail shaker for whipping up spice pastes and marinades and whatnot.
  

I also enjoy getting a bit domestic when it comes to Christmas and start whipping up sweet treats in the kitchen. A couple of years ago I tried making chocolate dipped citrus peels, inspired by these ones, and that's become a tradition now. So I gave everyone a bag of those too, plus some Russian fudge I'd made.

And now, my Christmas tree is fading (and shedding), the last of my Christmas lillies has wilted and it's time to take down the wreath on the door. My neighbour at the end of the street who goes crazy with lights all over their house and garden has accepted the end of the season and taken them all down. Another Christmas come and gone...

Hope you all had a good one.