About me - image of me in the palace in Ferrera, done in Delauncy style
Hello! I'm Rachael!
  • About Tea with Mum
  • About Me
  • Work with Tea with Mum
  • Say hello!
  • About
  • Blog
    • Parenting
      • Bilinguals kids
    • Home hacks
    • Craft and DIY
      • Kid crafts
      • Seasonal crafts
    • Yum
      • Afternoon Tea
      • Cakes and biscuits
      • Desserts
      • Ice creams and sorbets
      • Salads & savories
      • Tea recipes
      • Traditional German recipes
      • Travel recipes
    • Travel
      • Australia
      • Dinosaurs
      • Europe
      • Middle East
      • Parks, museums and zoos
      • Travel tips
    • Life and loss
  • Say hello!
  • Little helpers

Tea with Mum

Steeping the Soul

Parenting, Bilinguals kids · 25 December 2019

What do you leave out for Santa?

Today we took Miss M to see Father Christmas. We had been building up to it this season. We

  • made the Christmas biscuits and a gingerbread house;
  • drank Glühwein and Kinderpunsch;
  • visited 5 Christmas markets, one of which was even in Australia;
  • crafted and hung wreaths and tailored some IKEA Christmas ornaments for the family;
  • carefully opened one of the gifts on our Advent calendar each day;
  • posted to our Facebook Advent calendar each day;
  • bought, made and arranged and wrapped Christmas presents for family members on both sides of the globe; and
  • spent nearly 24 hours in the air to reach Australia and our family.

Today was the first of the family Christmas get-togethers. More importantly, it was the day for Miss M to visit the big man himself.

Fortunately, the department store we chose has an online booking system, so that you could reserve a spot with Santa (yay Myer!). This significantly reduced waiting time – so much easier with a young child whose jet-lagged body is still not sure what day it is. I wonder why more department stores don’t offer this service – but I digress.

Miss M farewelled Santa with a, “Get a good sleep Santa, you’ll need it for tomorrow night.” Miss M was very certain that Santa (and not the Christkind) comes on Christmas Eve and delivers presents to all the boys and girls on his Nice List. After doing Australia, he heads to other parts of the world where it is not yet morning.

Yet in all the planning and festive activities and discussions about combining our Christmases, we had neglected one issue. What do you leave out for Santa?

What do you leave out for Santa? It is as much a tradition as deciding when to open the presents.

Answering the age-old question: What do Australian's leave out for Father Christmas. Beer and biscuits. At least when Santa is thirsty.

What do you leave out for Santa? The Australian answer

Miss M had obviously watched too many American Christmas specials and was certain that Santa should have milk and cookies. We had to explain that cookies were biscuits and that milk would go off in the Australian heat before Santa got to eat it. In fact, if it was really hot, we had to put Santa’s food and drink in the fridge to keep cool (we don’t know when Santa would appear).

After some discussion, she decided that we should leave out a plate of crackers, some with ham and some with cheese. We would also leave out a beer for Santa to drink. Too much milk gave Father Christmas a bellyache, like Mummy, and that wouldn’t be good because he had the rest of the world to do still after Australia. If he hadn’t been when we went to bed, we would leave it in the fridge with a note to tell Santa where it was.

I guess the adjustments for heat is another Australia tradition that many other countries don’t face. It is now also part of Miss M’s Christmas traditions.

Merry Christmas from Tea with Mum

The last activity on our pre-Christmas list is a visit with the animals. Tomorrow, we will be visiting one of the local wildlife parks in keeping with the family traditions.

For some of you – our family included when we are in Germany – tomorrow will be the time that you get together and open presents.

We hope that you can quickly resolve any residual questions about when to give out any presents, who delivers them and indeed what to leave out for Santa or whoever else might be delivering the presents.

Instead of waiting for Christmas morning – the Australian way –

From our family to yours – we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, wherever you may be.

Thank you all for following Tea with Mum and for joining us on this incredible journey of healing. I hope to hear from you in the New Year!

Happy Holiday sign off
We combined Christmases, but forgot to answer the question, "What do you leave out for Santa?" Don't forget to work out this detail in advance and have a very Merry Christmas

Posted In: Parenting, Bilinguals kids · Tagged: Christmas in Australia, Christmas traditions, combining Christmas cultures

Want to see what we’ve got brewing?

Subscribe to our emails for exclusive content and sneak peeks. As a gift, we'll give you access to all our Little helpers.

Privacy Policy

By subscribing, you confirm that you have read and accept the Tea with Mum Privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.

You’ll Also Love

The decade that was: 2010 - 2019: The past 10 years for Tea with Mum, with calendar in background2010-2019: The decade that was
When you and your partner have two different Christmas cultures, how do you combine them? Follow these tips to find the right Christmas traditions for your family.How to combine Christmas cultures and traditions
Home for the holidays: our plans for spending Christmas in South Australia - Adelaide, beaches, Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island, wineriesWe’re spending Christmas in Australia

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

How to combine Christmas cultures and traditions

Hi and welcome to Tea with Mum. Follow us as we steep our soul and share our travels, parenting tips, tasty recipes, easy crafts & thoughts on life & loss, one cup at a time.
Happy Spring sidebar image, with a watercolour image of a bicycle

New Little Helpers

Little helpers banner: Let us help you: Little helpers: Free access when you subscribe: with watercolor image of paperclip with ribbon

Stay updated

Access all our Little helpers as a gift when you subscribe to our newsletter!

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Search

Categories

  • Parenting
  • Home hacks
  • Craft and DIY
  • Yum
  • Travel
  • Life and loss

hello!

I’m Rachael and these are my chats with my late Mum over a cup of tea. Let's make your life easier with simple & delicious recipes, easy craft ideas, home hacks, parenting tips, travel hints, tricks & itineraries and tonnes of Little helpers. Come share our adventures and take time for tea.

Who and what

  • About Tea with Mum
  • About me
  • Say hello
  • Work with us

Shop My Favourites

  • Travel essentials
  • Kitchen tools
  • Kid’s stuff
  • Craft supplies
  • Blogging resources

Travel

  • Europe
  • Australia
  • Parks, museums and zoos
  • Travel tips
  • Dinosaurs

Yum

  • Cakes and biscuits
  • Ice creams and sorbets
  • Travel recipes
  • Tea recipes
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2022 Tea with Mum · Theme by 17th Avenue