Our very Aussie Christmas

Our very Aussie Christmas Day started early - this pic was taken at 7.00am in front of the Christmas tree - Ella and Abi excited and  ready to open presents (and we hadn't even had a coffee!).

 For Abi, this was the Christmas of "the horse"......

 .. but water pistols are always a popular present too - ready for backyard battles!

 For Ella - it was the Christmas of the bedroom makeover.......

 .. but she's always up for a backyard pistol battle too (dressed in brand new PJs & socks) ........

 Lunchtime guests arrived at noon. Ella and I each did a welcome cheeseboard. Ella wanted to make a real competition out of it!  I went for quantity/volume....

 and Ella went for a great combination of salty, sweet and sour taste sensations. They each had their admirers!

 Ollie had just got back from his basketball trip to the States - and was full of great stories about his travels and the differences between the two countries.

It was a different Christmas for all of us this year. The Canberra family has had a very difficult year. The kids are all travelling well and make us feel full of joy. But us grown ups are finding things hard work at times! 

We all did really well on this beautiful Christmas Day together.

And  Secret Santa brought more horses!!!

 We had a great music soundtrack (thank you Spotify) on the day. Ollie did his great Tom Cruise dance routine (from Risky Business) ......

And we had a beautiful lunch with everyone contributing their specialties - and so much of everything!!

 After the main course it was hot enough for the great Aussie Slip & Slide to come out ........

 The addition of some detergent made the slides much more spectacular.....

 Then time for dessert: chocolate brownies, German Christmas cookies and our family favourite: licorice allsorts

 Abi took this family portrait. You'll note she was careful to include the horses.

 And Abi also took this pic of Joshy at a thoughtful moment. He and Jody hosted a happy, wonderful Aussie Christmas yesterday at their house - helping us all to experience the joy of each other's company, in these difficult times 😍😍