A Christmas Tree Down Under in July

 Temperatures are "chilling", Perth-ites are shivering, and it's still 6 months until the next holiday. (No Thanksgiving!) It's winter and even with no snow it has felt like it should be Christmas. So what better way to warm up a winter night than with Christmas in July.

It's no 12 Pains of Christmas (Rae Rae productions style), but...

On the 26th day of July my Aussie "family" sent to me...

12 Friends a smiling

11 Stockings hanging

10 Cookies decorating

Ok, there may be 11. And these creatively decorated cookies provided an opening point of conversation.

9 (+44) shots of "jelly"

8 slices warm Christmas pudding (with custard!)

7 cans of VB

6 Flipflop coasters

Yankee swap!

5 Glowstick rings

4 Mustaches rocking

3 Paper snowflakes

2 Footy Teams

The Hawthorn-Sydney match could have been the highlight of the night for some of these footy fans.

and a Christmas tree down under in July!!!

And after the dishes had been scrubbed, the cans been stacked, and the leftovers stowed, I had relaxed and admired the flicker of the candlelight twinkle of the tree. And in the the silence (or close to silence as I do live in the city with buses and cars driving by), it almost felt like I was back at Pheasant Run, in my Merry Grinchmas PJs, staring out onto the moonlit snow and listening for the jingling bells of Santa and his reindeer.

Merry Christmas in July to all and to all a good night!