I’d like to welcome Victoria from Addlepates and Book Nerds to the blog today to tell us what Christmas is like where she lives in New Zealand! I love learning about Christmas in other countries, so this is a real treat for me!

Hi everyone! I’m Victoria, a blogger from New Zealand. And over here, we celebrate Christmas a little differently!

First off, it’s summer here. That means we’re off school for summer break, and there’s absolutely no fear of a white Christmas. Honestly, I get super jealous of seeing snow in so many other countries! I would love snow here, but it’ll never happen at Christmas time. Luckily though, it also means we don’t have to snuggle up inside during the day. For me personally, my dad’s parents come and visit us, or we go and visit them. With six people in the house, it can be a little crowded. So it’s a good thing we get to go outside! We have Christmas lunch outside, and my dad and I often get sunburned. Yeah, we got the dud genes… Because my parents get Christmas break off, we go to the beach a lot once my grandparents are gone. Again, lots of sunburns, but also swimming in the sea! Oh, and the blooming of these beautiful trees, the pohutakwa.

When I signed up for writing this, I was worried that we didn’t have many differences apart from the season. Then I discovered something terrible about America – you don’t have Santa parades! Okay, how do you cope? What was your childhood?!? I haven’t been in years, since I’m supposedly too grown-up now, but when I was younger we went every year. I was even in one, dressed up as a fairy and handing out lollies (candy, sweets, whatever you want to call them). Basically, the parade is exactly what you’d expect – some dancers, some fairies, some circus people, all doing cool performances. And then, the man himself! Santa always has the best float, filled with lucky as heck children, always bringing up the rear of the parade. He’s not actually flying in this picture (obviously), but the floats are cool enough to make it look like it.

The last big difference (I think) is the food. For Americans, you’ve stuffed yourselves a month earlier at Thanksgiving. For us, the last time we ate that much food was last Christmas. So I think we get into it more than you guys do – but I’ve never celebrated anywhere outside of New Zealand, so what would I know? Definitely the best food we get at Christmas is pavlova. Honestly, I don’t know how to explain it to anyone who hasn’t had it. Google it! We also have roast kumara (sweet potato) with our roast lamb. Very New Zealandy! Oh, and you can’t forget Christmas cookies! Where would be without those? And advent calendars, Sampler biscuits, lamingtons… I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Thanks so much to Jana for letting me share all this with you! I’m so excited to see everyone else’s traditions.

Victoria is a 17-year-old blogger at Addlepates and Book Nerds. She swims, writes (not as often as she should…), reads, and watches too much YouTube to be healthy. You can find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Snapchat (@victoriajaynes), or email her at addlepatesandbooknerds@gmail.com! 

What is Christmas like where you live?

I’m happy to welcome a very good friend, Alexia from Pretty Deadly Reviews, to the blog today to help us celebrate the magic of this holiday season! She’s here to tell us about her top five choices for holiday movie-watching.

Elf

Elf is the movie that can get me into the Christmas spirit no matter what kind of day I’m having. It’s full of character, fun and hilarity. My family usually watches it on Christmas Eve after my brother gets home from his dad’s house. We also occasionally watch it on Thanksgiving night, though the former is much more likely.

Love Actually

I’ve got so much love for this movie. I mean, come on, it’s got an entire cast made from British actors and actresses. Plus it’s a movie about love, centered around the holidays. There’s always a mix of emotions when I watch this movie, but it always ends on a happy, hopeful note. There’s themes of love, death, cheating, promiscuity and forgiveness.

The Sound of Music

This movie was always one of my favorite movies to watch during Christmastime when I was little. Even now, as I am nearly 30, it still holds that same kind of magic for me. The chemistry between Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer is perfection. The songs are forever etched into my memory, and it too creates a mix of emotions as I watch the movie.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Honestly, I can take either version of this. The short cartoon or the longer, live action version with Jim Carrey. They both are awesome for many reasons. The cartoon has the nostalgia vote, but the live action is longer and it actually adds more to the story in some ways.

The Preacher’s Wife

This is another movie that has been one of my favorites since I was little. A large chunk of it is due to the fact that I’ve been obsessed with Whitney Houston since I was a child. This movie has so much good stuff in it. I almost always end up full on sobbing at the end of it. There are a lot of “grown up” topics in it, topics I didn’t grasp as a child, but important topics nonetheless.

What are some of your favorite movies to watch during the holiday season?