Holiday Homesick: Finding a New Way to Cope

You know cocoa

And mittens

And snowflakes

And fireplaces

Pine scent

And dark skies

And hard cold

And icicles

But do you know what’s…the hardest about Christmas afar?

It’s so very different. In so many ways.

We’re holiday homesick and finding a way to cope.

Missing Christmas in Winter

I’m a hygge girl and half introvert, so any reason to be home is a welcome one. I read. I write. I journal. And at Christmas, I bake and decorate and light pine-scented candles. My daughter and I play our version of “Name That Tune,” called “Andy, Bing or Perry?” So many of our holiday favs are sung by similar voices, so we try to guess who croons what. The catch? The answer isn’t always A, B, or…P. It’s our little thing. And it’s done with the wind shaking the house, the sun setting at 5:00 PM, and snow crusting the window panes.

Until now.

If wintertime makes Christmas come alive, the southern hemisphere is a tough place to be. It’s summer down under, and if typical weather patterns hold, the rainy spring season is behind us, so not even the clouds can provide an illusion of short days. The snow on the southern alps has shrunk to a mere sugary glaze, instead of that flamboyant dollop enjoyed during the colder months. Last year, we spent Christmas night (hardly “night” as the sun lingers until well after 9:00) on the beach with a bonfire.

It’s a far cry from Christmases in Colorado, in a darkened living room with the only light from a roaring fire in the fireplace and a lit-up tree.

Ugh. Maybe I shouldn’t be writing this.

But as I do, Christmas favorites play softly from Alexa (it’s Lindsey Stirling this time), and when I look up from my screen, I see the sea, lush green trees, and a lawn fraught with dandelions. It’s time to remind the kids to mow the yard.

Mow. Of all things.

Not only are we not in Colorado, where we didn’t ever need to mow our wild, dusty yard, but we find ourselves in a place where we have to do yard work amongst the Santa Claus lawn ornaments.

The Christmas Dichotomy

It’s like pop stars attempting traditional holiday tunes and adding twice as many notes as necessary.

Or lasagne-flavored crisps

Or when you think you’re drinking milk but it’s actually orange juice (don’t ask…)

It’s just…confusing. It doesn’t work.

Or maybe I need more time.

I’m not confident, though. We’ve talked to expats from Britain who’ve lived in the Southern Hemi for decades, and Christmas still feels off to them.

I think I may know why. Or at least in part, why.

Santa still wears his fur-trimmed heavy red coat and drives a sleigh. This is whether he stands in attention at the checkout lane, waves from a parade float, or sits on his ornate chair at the mall:

Storefronts display (artificial) snow-dusted Christmas trees:

And “Let it Snow!” fills the grocery store’s aisles.

However, I once heard a familiar holiday tune, but the lyrics seemed off. Until I heard, clear as a silver bell,

…walkin’ in New Zealand Wonderland!

I was delighted. Until the next song,

…let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Damn it.

The northern hemisphere has firm ownership on Christmas. We do see the occasional Hawaiian shirt-clad St. Nick image. Correction (darn that north-of-the-equator bias) tropical shirt-clad St. Nick out-and-about, but it’s rare. The integration of gorgeous summer weather and revamped Christmas ideas isn’t common. At least not where we are.

It’s orange juice and milk all over again.

And our families are so very, very far away. I can’t even think about that.

So How to Cope?

I’m not quite ready for a Christmas BBQ, although it is a sensible move in summer not to heat up the house by turning on the oven. But we can grill out any time.

And traditional Christmas comfort foods are a must.

The compromise? Comfort with a twist in color and content to soften the Christmas sickness.

We bake the aromatic cookies but decorate them with less red and green and more sparkle:

The reds and greens come in an extra special way, from the garden:

The same goes for gift wrapping. I’m a sucker for a beautifully-wrapped present, but my son has begged I get with the (Christmas) program and be more eco-friendly about it. So this year, we are using newsprint and reusable bags and boxes. I still bling it up, but this year, we use stickers and sparkle in silver, gold and pink.

And we’ve added some uniquely New Zealand treasures to our holiday decorating:

And while it may sound silly, we listen to more instrumental Christmas music. Nat, and Andy, Bing and Perry do get air time, but the absence of vocal triggers like snow and winter and open fire help with our adjustment to a very different holiday vibe.

Staying Connected

Gratefully, the world has become a much smaller place thanks to email, social media and Facetime and WhatsApp. We will open gifts via the airways with family in the states. We share photos on FB and enjoy seeing what our friends and family back home are doing in the cold of North America, living vicariously through them.

Change is hard, new experiences are what growth is made of, and distance is the mother of creativity. We’re making holidays from afar work and building new traditions, ones we will return home with.

Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and

Meri Kirihimete

From us to you this holiday season.