Christmas was far better than I had expected.  I was determined not to sit about being miserable and thinking, "Our second Christmas without Ross" -- but then our son in New Zealand was not able to get home for Christmas after all, and so we would be missing two of our three sons, and it was all going to be a bit of an effort.

But then our other son asked if they could invite some neighbours from Sydney.  A Pakistani family, a single mother with two children who often played with our Gavin.  A Muslim family for whom Christmas meant a day off work with everybody else celebrating while they tried to fill in a day.  A family who are trying hard to fit in to Australia and who were delighted at the invitation to "an Aussie Christmas".

So I got enthused again after all, and dusted off the decorations and actually bought some new ones -- I actually put up a tree! -- and planned a special menu, and went shopping, and it was all quite a lot of fun.  I had five-year-old Gavin with me so we made a manger scene too - my attempt to bring some balance to the "Santa and bling" philosophy of Christmas.

The Pakistan family had a wonderful time, and it was a happy day for us all.




And I was thrilled to get some really nice gifts too!