A Visit From Sandy Claus

Friday

Ro woke us up at 7:30am ready to open presents, "Daddy, daddy, daddy! Santa came! Santa came!" Sure enough, the traditional NZ meat pie and beer we left out for Santa was gone with just a few crumbs left on the plate. With no chimney, we left our patio door open so he could get in. Once Mark and Sherry were out of bed and properly caffeinated, Ro dug in to his gifts. Instead of stockings, we improvised with our bucket hats which "Santa" had stuffed with lollies and other treats.

Sunrise over Coronation Park

Since we have to lug everything back to the States, the only present Ro got of any appreciable size was a Ben 10 scooter, perfect for tooling around The Mount this summer. He also got a Ben 10 alien, half a dozen small Transformers, Legos, a Ben 10 mug, some new clothes and shoes, an All Blacks calendar, and the biggest hit of the morning: a set of Bakugan Battle Brawlers. He also got a bone Maori symbol necklace (the fish hook), an upgrade from his green plastic one...unfortunately, Sherry soon dropped it on the kitchen tile floor and it broke.

Bumblebee, Ro's favorite Transformer

Sherry made out with a necklace, a summery cotton nightie, a Mt Maunganui tea towel for her collection, a silver fern charm for her charm bracelet, a James Patterson novel, a Waitomo Caves baby-doll tee, a gardening book, a decorative paua shell kiwi, and Ronan Keating's latest CD (a Christmas album conveniently enough). Every time we tell someone here Ronan's name, they say, "Oh! Like Ronan Keating. Can you sing, too?" For those of you not in the know, Ronan Keating is an Irish pop singer, virtually unknown in the States, but immensely popular in the Commonwealth countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Keating

Mark's coolest present was actually a TradeMe coup that cost next to nothing: an otherwise non-descript beer manufacturer baseball cap, but with Daniel Vettori's and other cricket legends' autographs! He also got an All Blacks mug (a picture of the team doing a haka appears when a hot liquid is put inside), an All Blacks mini-umbrella, a Blackcaps jersey, a vintage NZ surf t-shirt, a book on Mt Maunganui, wine glass charms featuring NZ birds, some clothes, and most importantly, his NZ greenstone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Vettori

After having brunch on our deck (french toast, bacon, and fruit salad), Mark helped Ro put together his Legos and transform his Transformers into vehicles. Sherry made another attempt at pavlova, as the one last night didn't rise properly. She forgot the pinch of salt, and didn't whisk the egg whites enough, despite her arms being sore from it when she woke up this morning. She made sure they were whisked sufficiently today, though, killing her forearms through the entire DVD of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and trading off with Mark when needed. She vowed never to make pavlova again without an electric mixer! Once the pavlova was done, it was time for that other Kiwi Christmas tradition - the beach! Maunganui Road was a virtual ghost town since all the shops were closed, but the beach was a popular destination. Ro put his scooter through its first paces on the way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlova_(food)

A balmy brunch

Let's hit the beach!

Ro and Sherry didn't venture far into the water, as it's not exactly warm, but that didn't stop Mark from taking a long dip and a couple of shorter ones over the course of the afternoon. Sherry did go in just far enough to bless Mark's greenstone in the water, as the gift giver is supposed to do. Ro was content to dig in the sand, with occasional help from us.

Cooling off in the clear water

Sherry's view for most of the afternoon

Mt Drury from the water

Is it a tunnel or a bridge? Ro wasn't sure

We came home in time for Sherry to put the Christmas ham in the oven, and Barnaby soon came over to compare toys with Ro. Let's just say that they are masters of one-upmanship. We rendezvoused with Craig and Paulette down by the pool around 6pm. There were a bunch of young adults in the pool, but it only took a few minutes of Ro and Barnaby splashing around for everyone else to retreat to the spa tubs.

Last night's pavlova "cookie" and today's success

Play nice!

Our poolside Christmas feast consisted of ham with Sherry's special brown-sugar glaze, steaks off the grill, crayfish, salad, coleslaw, green bean casserole (a novelty for Craig and Paulette), and of course, pavlova for dessert. The boys had grilled sausages and chips. All of it was amazing, and we stuffed ourselves well beyond full because it would have been criminal to waste any. Sherry even set her vegetarianism aside for the evening. Paulette's 2yo daughter Caitlyn enjoyed playing with the boys, repeatedly "pushing" them into the pool. Craig and Paulette gave us a nice gift basket of Kiwiana items, and we all pulled Christmas crackers; the jokes inside were more fun than the prizes.

NZ crayfish are the size of lobsters, but even tastier

God bless us, every one!

This is how you pull the cracker

Good on ya, Sherry!

Think they like it?

Ro and Barnaby were going to have an impromptu sleepover, and we even got as far as bedtime stories, but then Barnaby wanted to go home to sleep in his own bed. He probably wanted to be closer to all his new toys! All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed what will likely be our only Kiwi Christmas.

End of a memorable holiday