I’m dreaming of a sunny Christmas…

(…just like the ones I used to know)

I grew up in the Southern Hemisphere which meant Christmas in the heat …

• droopy branches on the Christmas tree just 4 days after decorating

• the candles on the tree melting from both the flames and the summer heat

• ice cold watermelon slices

• cold salads on Christmas day

• and definitely no hot mulled wine or hot chocolates, unless of course you forget it in the sun.

Photo by CRISTINA ILAO

After having lived in the UK for more than a decade, I have now grown fond of (or dear I say prefer) a cold, winter Christmas. There is something very romantic and enchanting about the cold air against the cheeks, clothed in that extra cosy layer, cheesy Christmas jumpers and Christmas lights everywhere. Just hand me a big oat milk latte and my moms big blue container with home-baked treats and it could not be more perfect.

With the sun rising after 8 and setting at like 3 in the afternoon, going for pre- or post-work runs means running in the dark. But the lovely part about this is running through the streets past all the houses, catching glimpses of their (mostly) beautifully decorated Christmas trees through their windows and fairy lights flowing through the bushes in the front yards. My mom has these little tea light holders that look like tiny houses on a hill. If you light the candle inside the holder it looks like all the tiny houses have their lights on. When running in a hilly area like Bath you constantly have views just like that and I absolutely love them. And let’s not forget the Christmas markets…

With this year being what it is (let's be honest a total pain in the backside to put it nicely) we decided to escape our little home for a while and spend Christmas in the summer instead.

To be completely honest as I climbed off that plane I was longing for the cold weather. The sudden change from -1 to 28 degree can be rather tough on the body. But as I am writing this I am sitting next to a pool, G&T in hand and a half-eaten bowl of cold lychees right next to me, there is really nothing to complain and I no longer can remember what the cold felt like.

The one thing I can say though is that it feels like Christmas has already come and gone this year as there is not much of a Christmas spirit here. No Christmas trees peaking through the windows, very few decorations in the shops and surprisingly no cheesy Boney M’s Christmas album playing on repeat at the local supermarkets as it seems to be a tradition here, but hopefully it will come soon (the Christmas spirit, NOT the Boney M music). I am looking forward to that sunny Christmas I once knew.