Read on to discover how we spent Christmas week in Sydney, NSW, with top tips from Pommy Parents for having a magical Christmas in the Land Down Under.

Presents

What will we do about presents? This was the number one question asked by our family and friends when we told them about our Christmas trip down under.

It was actually really easy. We got the kids to write letters to Santa and made sure to put our hotel address on it so he knew where to come! Presents from us we brought and wrapped and put it a suitcase. We didn’t need to pay for an extra bag as we had a generous luggage allowance with Singapore Airlines travelling with kids. All the presents magically appeared in the hotel room on Christmas morning, and the kids were delighted!

Santa delivered most of the presents to our Sydney hotel, and luckily, they were all small or medium-sized, so they could handily be brought back no problem! When we got gome we discovered Santa had also been to our normal house on Christmas Eve and had left a few of the bigger presents under our tree at home, explaining he thought we wouldn’t be able to fit them.on the plane to bring them back so he left them at home for the children. The kids were so happy to get some suprise bonus presents when we got home!

Decorations

We left the UK on the 3rd of December. We usually put the tree up the first weekend of Decemver.and get a real tree. That year, we borrowed an artificial tree and decorated the house 2 weeks early in Mid November! The kids still had the experience of decorating for christmas and enjoyed the tree. Plus there were suprise presents from Santa under it when we landed back in the UK!

We didn’t decorate our hotel room. This would have been an option, but I didn’t want the extra expense or waste of buying decorations that would probably be thrown away.

Plan for the day

It’s still Christmas, and a lot of stuff will be shut or have different opening hours, just like at home. If there is somewhere in particular you want to go, ring ahead, and check online that it will be open.

Nothing is more Australian than going to the beach on Christmas Day, right?! We planned to go to Manly Beach and researched our public transport times, etc, ahead of time. We also booked a great restaurant to have our Christmas lunch in; I’m so glad we did as we saw a number of people, mainly tourists and backpackers, struggling to find a table on Christmas day and queing in the sun for a long time. Not an ideal way to spend Christmas with your hungry kids!

Christmas Dinner

Ditch the traditional UK christmas turkey and embrace Aussie BBQs! We chose a relaxed beach restaurant serving amazing seafood and steaks, and it was such a nice meal. This was the only restaurant we had over the whole holiday; we usually take packed lunches or cook our own, but we wanted something special for christmas.

A turkey roast dinner wouldn’t have been feasible from our hotel, and we fancied something different, as we were having a different type of Christmas! We finished off the meal with beers and cocktails over looking the sea. It was a really good day.

Making memories

We researched what was going on at Christmas and attended open air carols and concerts in the city. It was so memorable and different, swapping hats, scarves, and dark nights with twinkling lights, for t-shirts, sunglasses, and warm sunny evenings. It is Carol singing we will never forget. We also went to view the big tree in the city and take a picture in front of it in the blazing sunshine 🌞

Top tips

1. Embrace the differences

Christmas isn’t going to be the same as in England, and why would you want it to be?  It will be fun and memorable and so good to embrace a different cultures Christmas celebration. Enjoy being outside, warm sunny days, trips to the beach, and bbqs. The kids will be happy as long as they get presents ( if they are anything like mine!) The opportunity for time in nature together is sure to make this Christmas relaxed and extra special. Added bonus; being away from extended family takes some of the pressure off and means you can concentrate on just having a good time. Instead of a full roast, how about taking the chance to have your favourite meal on the day, be it steak, pizza, or anything that takes your fancy! 

2. Plan ahead

You might be in summer holiday mode, and it’s easy to forget that for everybody else in Australia, it’s still a bank holiday and things might be shut. Avoid the temptation to go with the flow and research public transport, restaurants, and other attractions that might have different opening hours or become fully booked quickly. 

3. Take advantage of the city attractions

One surprising bonus of being tourists in Sydney at Christmas was that top attractions such as Taronga Zoo and the Aquarium are open on Christmas day and are usually very quiet compared to normal as most sydneysiders are at home with friends and family. We didn’t do this option in the end and went to the beach, which was packed, but we found a spot and had a great day in the sun.

4. Make sure Santa brings presents that you can fit in the suitcase

5. Remember, any large items you can’t fit in the suitcase can be arranged with Santa ahead of time to be delivered to your home address. That way, you have a lovely suprise waiting for you when you get back.  This helps to beat the post holiday blues!

6. If you feel like it, you can still do yearly traditions such as decorating the tree, going to carols and giving gifts at home; just do it before or after you come home! That way, you get the best of both worlds. There was no way I was missing out on my Christmas roast turkey dinner ( the best meal of the year!), so we had a full Christmas roast with all the trimmings and crackers in November. 

Or, alternatively, you can take the opportunity to escape the christmas madness and have a totally chilled one.

We had a wonderful, memorable Christmas down under, and that year was really one of our best Christmas ever!

Have any of you had any memorable Christmasses abroad?

Let me know in the comments!

---

***

Hi! I’m Lizzie, a mum of two living in the Cotswolds. Here on Travel Happy Family, I share all of our travels with you, where we’ve been, how we got there, and how much it cost!

If you are looking for ideas on where to travel with your kids, inspiration for new destinations, or just want to follow us on our journey, welcome, and I hope you find what we write helpful.

Happy travels! Xxx