Holiday Traditions We Love

What Holidays Mean To Me by Murray Bevan

Summer in New Zealand is a time for me to take my watch off, forget what day it is, sleep in, eat lots of fresh fruit, go fishing, swimming, read books and magazines on the beach, cook BBQ’s, visit the countryside on day trips, be with family and celebrate what a great country we live in.

Crackmas (Christmas Lights in Dyker Heights) by Deana Bianco

I started a new holiday tradition this year, a tour of the notorious Christmas lights in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn (located in the sout west corner of Brooklyn by the Verrazano Bridge). Forget about the large holiday crowds at Macys, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. Instead, rent a car or a party bus and head over to Brooklyn to get into the holiday cheer. The decorations are so extravagant and over the top (a 25 foot Santa to accompany 40 foot nutcrackers with movable arms), with each home trying to outdo the next. It screams everything I love about New York City…if we are going to do something, it is going to be BIG and gaudy. It’s like Christmas on crack and that is why I renamed the experience “Crackmas.” Park your car, set your iPod to A Ray Charles Christmas (my personal favorite), take a stroll around the neighborhood and enjoy the Crackmas spirit.

Boats, Baches And Beaches by Jamie McLellan

Christmas holidays in the southern hemisphere obviously mean summer holidays which for me means as much time on and beside the water as possible, and the further away from civilisation the better. Some of my favourite spots over the past few years have included Havelock North in the Hawkes Bay, Okahu Passage in the Bay Of Islands and Bon Accord Harbour on Kawau Island - simple, wholesome and remote.

My Best Christmas Holiday by Karen Walker

My best Christmas holiday is always spent at home in Auckland with day trips to Bethell’s / Te Henga. One of Auckland’s most rugged west coast beaches its vast and powerful and slightly ominous. The surf’s huge and churning, the surrounding cliffs quite astounding. Start the day with an early morning walk up the beach; you’re likely to be the only one, except for a few horses. Spend the day lazing under any of the thousand-year-old Pohutukawa trees, which are stunning with their Christmas scarlet dressing. Lunchtime is best at the lake, swinging into the water from the trees. Afternoon is for a nap of course followed by coffee and cake at the Bethell’s Beach café - an old caravan nestled in the sand dunes. It has the best organic carrot cake in the city. Watch out for llamas (!) too. After coffee and cake take the long, long walk the length of the beach. At this time of day the sun cuts low onto the beach and there’s never been anything so beautiful. Finish the day with a glass of wine on the cliff tops watching the sun drop. Watch out for the green flash. Then it’s back to the cottage for a home cooked meal. Magic.