Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington

Sunshine was gifted to us on Christmas Day this year in Wellington and we had the most wonderfully relaxed day together (well, almost all together, as our oldest currently lives in Melbourne and so we video chatted and were delighted to see them having an awesome time with a friend and their friend’s family).

We had a leisurely start to the day and after opening gifts we spent the day playing in the garden, doing a jigsaw puzzle, taking a stroll before dinner and soaking up the sunshine.

It was so wonderful to see families out enjoying the gorgeous weather, many gathering at the beach to swim and play beach games.

Sunshine isn’t always guaranteed for us at Christmas, just like snow isn’t always for our family in the UK. Some years we have rain and wind, and gather around to play games, enjoying the flickering of the fairy lights. Whatever the weather we are always thankful for the time together and the memories we’ve shared with loved ones over the years.

After an amazing day and so much food I needed to get out for a run in the evening, so headed out as the sunset and enjoyed the cooler temperatures.

Over the Christmas weekend we managed to connect with our folks in the UK via video chats and it was wonderful to know my dear Dad was happy with his older brother and family. My hubby’s folks were all well too and we chatted with them on our Boxing Day morning (their Christmas Day evening), which is also our second born daughter’s birthday and they all sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to her (amply fuelled by a day of indulging in much food and wine!).

Sophie had a lovely Birthday morning, relaxing at home and playing a new game we’d got for Christmas, called ‘Kubb’. We heard that Orca had been spotted near the Miramar Peninsula and were delighted to spot them close to shore on a drive around the peninsula! Later in the afternoon we all headed to the beach for a swim, where Sophie met up with her boyfriend and then he joined us for dinner later that evening. There weren’t many places open on a Bank Holiday Monday, but thankfully ‘Dragons’ Chinese was. We had a lovely meal, followed by gelatos at Kaffe Eis.

On Christmas Eve morning we had a blast at Worser Bay in Seatoun, on the Miramar Peninsula. A giant inflatable had been set up and we met with friends for a fun hour. Later that day it was a friend’s 50th Birthday, so we headed into town to meet up for lunch and drinks, which made for a very relaxed and jovial afternoon!

The weather really did bestow us with the best weather for the holiday season! We had a visitor arrived the day after Boxing Day and it was wonderful to be able to give her a tour of Welly with it looking its best in the sunshine!

Leading up to Christmas the streets of Wellington looked beautiful, with festive flags and the bloom of Pohutukawa and Northern Rata trees (which I posted photos of in a recent post). I doodled a little painting in my nature journal (which I’m trying to do more of in 2023!).