Christmas is different down here in the Southern Hemisphere. No snow, or ice-skating or hot chestnuts roasting on the fire for us. Our days are long and sunny and we are more inclined to sip a cold beer than a glass of eggnog at Christmas. Even our Santa seems a bit more laid back than we imagine a British Santa might be. There he was, safely ensconced on his Santa Chair in the shopping mall, while he waiting patiently for the little children to come and sit on his knee. I took a sneaky photo as I walked past, because, after all, I love Santa too.
Ho ho ho – come sit on my knee
Close by was another Santa, although this one seemed to be made of rubber. I watched as he merrily raised himself up and down in the chimney. This poor old Santa must have been getting some unwanted attention from various naughty children, as he had a sign warning the youngsters not to push or hit him. Don’t they know that if their names go on the “Naughty List” they may well miss out on presents?
Don’t be naughty – be nice!
How about some local grown freshly picked strawberries for dessert? This enterprising couple were selling them in the mall – so I purchased two punnets to take home. Fresh strawberries in a bowl topped with whipped cream – yummy. Sorry Robin, we don’t have any ice-cream to go with the strawberries and cream.
Strawberries for dessert tonight
With my few jobs all done and ticked off the list, I retraced my steps through the mall to see Santa get up out of his chair and walk briskly to the door. He stopped to chat to a group of youngsters who wanted to know where the reindeer were. “It's too hot for the reindeer today”, he told them, “I had to leave them at home, and drive here in my 4WD”. One of the youngsters was quite concerned and really wanted to know more about the reindeer. But Santa said goodbye and walked out into the car park.
Where are the reindeer, Santa?
And sure enough, Santa walked briskly up to his 4WD and climbed in. Its just not the same as a sleigh pulled by those reindeer we all love - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course.....Rudolf leading the way with his bright red nose.
This Santa travels by 4WD
He is probably rushing away to make sure that the reindeer have plenty of food and water. After all, they have to be in the very best condition. Isn't there a very important night's work coming up for them soon?
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