Tuesday, January 2, 2018

DAY 177 – A MELBOURNE CHRISTMAS



Chloe and Dan had us sleep over Christmas Eve so that we would wake up at their place Christmas morning.  It is a good thing they did, as it was after midnight by the time we caught the train home from the Carols by Candlelight.  


I still had presents to wrap as well as have a shower and Santa presents delivered into all the sacks, so by the time I had done all of that  it was close to 2am before I finally crawled into bed.  
Christmas Morning at Dan and Chloe's

Chloe and Dan were really sweet and let us have their good bed and they slept on the couch.  Bless them for their kindness.  I don’t think they had the best night sleep, as Chloe was in to us around 6.30am waking everyone to hop on our bed so that we could open a few presents before we headed off to church.
Opening our Santa Sacks

It was fun, especially sharing it with the Danish girls, as their big celebration in Denmark happens on Christmas Eve.  



Church was at 9am, so we had to hurry and get ready, and walk to the station as we were catching the train into town to attend the service at Hillsong Melbourne.  Their church is situated in one of the old theatres right in the centre of Melbourne.   We had a bit of a walk to get their from Flinders Street Station.  It felt a little eerie heading out of the station knowing that three days previously, 19 people were mowed down by a madman driving his vehicle into them all.  It is all so sad…. And happening around the world far too frequently.

The Service was ok.. They had a live link up with Brian Housten from Hillsong in Sydney.  I found the theatre though impersonal, as we were seated right up in the gallery which was miles away from most people.  Also the seating was very narrow and cramped, so that made it difficult.  Maybe it was just the Christmas service, but I didn’t really find it that friendly either.  I guess that is also a little of what living in a city is all about.  


After the service we walked a different way back to the train station in through town and I was amazed at all the shops that were open on Christmas day, and all the people just wandering around in the city.   The train into church was packed with folk also, mostly those of a different cultural background, so I wondered if perhaps they did not celebrate Christmas like we do here in Australia.  All very interesting.  


We got home from church around 11am and it was time to put the turkey in the Weber.  I was really spoilt this year, I didn’t have to do a thing.  Steve and Dan mostly did the cooking.  The boys also baked a ham this year and it tasted amazing.  
Baked Christmas Ham
Roast Turkey Roll

Unfortunately we didn’t realise how long the turkey was going to take to cook, so it was almost 3pm before we had the most magnificent lunch. 

Dan and Chloe had made some Crème Brule  for Christmas desert but we were all too full to eat it. At the time. 


Once our lunch was on to cook, we opened all our presents.  We were all spoilt this year..  Dan and Chloe are the most loving and generous people I know, and I really feel so blessed to have them as family.


We didn’t get a chance to do much Christmas shopping this year until we got to Melbourne, and Christmas for us was a little light on.  Steve, Dan and Chloe all wanted new shoes for Christmas so that was easy…  Chloe and I also scored some new perfume,  there were socks for everyone, DVDs, gift vouchers, bags, jewellery, and I think the Danish girls were a little overwhelmed by the generosity of by Dan and Chloe, not only in their gifts but also having them stay. 


Father Christmas handing out our Christmas presents


Steve and I got very very spoilt for Christmas.  All our children had put in together and bought us a Hot Air Ballooning Experience over the Yarra Valley which were were booked to do with Dan and Chloe on Friday 29th December.


To say I was feeling a little overwhelmed would be an understatement. 

Part of me was very excited but also nervous at the same time.  This gift was to also celebrate my 60th milestone birthday from the month before.  What an amazing way to end the Adventure of a lifetime….


Now I know why Chloe so badly wanted us to stay the extra day.  I love her heart and how much joy she gets out of doing nice things for others…. Dan is a perfect match for her as he is very similar also. 

Playing Uno - Danish Rules
Once we had opened all our presents, we still had a good hour or more to wait until lunch was cooked, so we all sat around the floor playing UNO but with some Danish rules, which Steve wasn’t too keen on.  We had such a great day though. 

 We ate dinner around 3pm, and polished off an amazing lunch cooked by Chloe and the boys.  We were all really full, and a few of us had a bit of a catnap for an hour or so before we all got together again to have a game of ”Pakkeleg” which is a traditional Danish Christmas Game.  Maria and Peter taught it to us back in 2015 when they were home for Christmas and we have played it each Christmas since.    It is a lot of fun, although Hanne changed the rules a little this year, and instead of just passing one present on when a 3 was rolled on the dice, we had to pass all our presents on…  Think I like the old way better, but we still had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.
It was about 8pm before we finished the game, so then it was time to have the desert that Chloe and Dan had made.  Dan has just acquired blow torch, so they were keen to use it on the Crème Brule and put a nice crunchy toffee topping on it.  Tasted delicious.  


It was after 11pm before we were ready to leave.  We had planned on doing the Great Ocean Road the following morning so we needed to be back at Dan and Chloe’s the following morning by 7.30pm.


On our way home from Dan and Chloe’s, Pete and Maria rang to wish us a very Happy Christmas, and we spent a good hour or more talking to them…


Just as we were about to crawl into bed we got a call from Chloe telling us that she was really sick and throwing up and didn’t think she would be able to go on the trip the following morning.,  Poor kid was really sick.  We decided to postpone our trip out along the Great Ocean Road until the 27th December in the hope that she would be well enough and able to join us.  


It worked out well, because we had a big sleep in the following morning.  It has been a hectic few days, so the sleep in  was probably something we all needed.

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