Sharing Christmas #2 Melissa

In the second edition of our Sharing Christmas series, I'd like to introduce Mel. We first met in Sydney when the boys were really tiny at a gorgeous Mum's group, and have thankfully continued our friendship following her departure to New Zealand and ours to Tasmania. Mel is a beautiful mum to three and has just begun a salivating blog called Armoire, Pegs and Casserole. This girl has an incredible eye and now generously shares her love of home decor, flea market finds and food online.
Mel kindly had a chat with us about her memories of Christmas...

1.    Were you a very traditional family growing up? 

Traditional no, but I certainly had a quintessential Australian upbringing. I grew up by the beach an hour south of Sydney. I spent my childhood running around barefoot, exploring the bush and playing on the street with the neighbourhood children. My school was opposite the beach so most of the mothers would collect their kids after school and we’d spend the afternoons splashing around in the water. It was wonderful.

2.    What Christmas traditions from your childhood do you share with your kids now?

My father is a storyteller and used to make up these fantastic stories for my sister and me with us usually as the main characters. We didn’t need any pictures, just his colourful language and our imagination. I do this often for my boys and they really respond to it. The one Christmas tradition that we did was visit a nativity scene each Christmas Eve, it was magical and something that I like to do with my children now.

3.    With so much emphasis on buying and less on the traditional values of Christmas, how do you make this time of year special for your family?

In the week leading up to Christmas we sit around the lit tree before the kids go to bed and sing carols. We also bake and decorate Christmas cookies together and gift them to our neighbours and this year we will start a new tradition where the children will choose some of their toys to give to other children less fortunate. On the day we all set a beautiful table for Christmas lunch and enjoy a special meal together.

4.    I must admit, I was always pretty scared of 'shopping centre Santa's. Did you ever have a Christmas phobia?

I was completely into Christmas and everything that went with it so it was positive other than the fear of Santa’s helper catching me being naughty and reporting back to him.

5.    If you could bring your kids anywhere in the world for Christmas, where would you go?

I’d love for us to all go to Bad Gastein, a beautiful ski village and spa in the Gastein region not far from Salzburg. I spent a winter there in ’97 and its beauty left such an impression on me, especially when the village was blanketed in snow, it was like something out of a fairytale for an Australian girl. It is also because of a number of events that led me to that village, and meeting a friend who in turn took me to France where I met Guillaume my husband. I guess we can thank Bad Gastein for our beautiful family.

6.    Where were you when you found out the truth about Santa?!

I was embarrassingly old; I think I might have been eleven. I didn’t believe the kids at school that told me he wasn’t true. Finally we were sitting around the dinner table and my parents broke it to me. I found out that the tooth fairy wasn’t true that same evening, I was crushed!

Our first Sharing Christmas post with Jillian can be found here