This past Christmas was a tough one for me, as it was my first away from my family. Although I was really excited about our upcoming Australia trip, I was sort of dreading not having a 'regular' family Christmas, so we tried to schedule a few things to keep us busy and occupied before we left.
The first Christmas party we went to was an 'orphan Christmas' at Jerry & Leanne's flat, along with the rest of the South Africans. They cooked a Christmas roast with all the trimmings, complete with Christmas crakers & mulled wine! We stuffed ourselves to the brim and had a great time.
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| Lloyd, Sami, Gareth & Jerry |
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| Tinus & Jen |
The next celebration was in Shoreditch (East London) with the Aussie/Kiwi crew. We met for wine and snacks at a quaint little french cafe and had a White Elephant gift exchange.
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| Lloyd & the Aussie/Kiwi Crowd |
On Boxing day we had a few of the other 'orphans' over so that Lloyd could try out his new toy, his Webber BBQ grill! Even though it was freezing cold the guys lit the fire and cooked up some delicious meat.
In the end our Christmas celebrations were fun, but it didn't compare to the family Christmases I've enjoyed in the past. However Lloyd was super sweet to me and he even agreed to watch White Christmas, which is an annual Beavers family tradition.
Being away from my family for Christmas made me remember all of the things that make it feel like Christmas to me: family, food, smells, movies, singing, laughing, Christmas lights, and Christmas music. And although we were able to have some of those things this year, it made us appreciate our families even more.
On Boxing day we had a few of the other 'orphans' over so that Lloyd could try out his new toy, his Webber BBQ grill! Even though it was freezing cold the guys lit the fire and cooked up some delicious meat. 
