Sunday, December 26, 2010

OUR SOUTH AFRICAN CHRISTMAS...

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM A SUNNY SOUTH AFRICA!
MAXMOM here...

Firstly...
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
I do hope that Santa was really generous to all my friends across the world...?

Whilst many of my cyber-friends (in the Northern hemisphere) have been enjoying the snow (and I imagine their 'hot Christmas meals) we do things a little differently at this end of the world.  Our weather is HOT and a 'cold' lunch is preferable.  This year we decided to keep our Christmas as simple as possible.  No fuss, just family and togetherness...in the garden:



The sun rose to a beautiful clear blue sky with our resident weaver bird singing out his special Christmas welcome .


It was time to set up the table in the garden - underneath the portable gazebo.

As a family, we'd spent Christmas eve together playing an array of board games and decided to open our gifts then too. All that remained was to enjoy a magical day together.

I arranged an array of Christmas nibbles on my tea trolley and dragged them into the garden too.  Tammy and Toby were each given a delicious chewy to distract them.
Once everything was set, our guests arrived, the fire was started and the 'braai' (barbeque) commenced amidst much revelry.

Everyone had been instructed to dress strictly casually to add to the laid back ambience.  Amidst cool drinks, Champagne and an array of 'coolers', there was much merriment.  Swimming costumes were the order of the day so that if anyone needed to cool off , they could.
(even if it is during the lunch! Afterall, it's Christmas!)

Our dogs are ALWAYS part of our Christmas celebrations.

As the afternoon wore on, we cleared the table and spent the time together lazing around the pool and on the cool lawn. Everyone was in good spirits.



The spirit of 'Maxdog' was also present.
Toby enjoyed playing with his old toy giraffe too...



All-in-all, it was a wonderful day and we are all still very much in the Christmas mood with another beautiful day ahead of us.

Hope you are all enjoying yourselves too.
Remember:

Live your life to the Max!

Sending lotsaluv to you all -
including my distant family in Australia
(We miss you very much!)

Withlove

21 comments:

Kate said...

Happy Christmas Maxmom, Pups and Family, sounds like an ideal christmas day!

Wishing you a relaxing festive season and a lovely new year!



Koda & Kate

kks said...

i'm spending christmas with you next year! looks like my kind of celebration! what a perfect day....
i love the pics with you and Toby...i still can't get over how handsome he is and how fast he is growing! :)
xoxo

D.K. Wall said...

What a wonderful way to spend Christmas Day. Not really possible at Chez Herd since the current storm will drop around 2 feet of snow on us.

♥I am Holly♥ said...

Merry Christmas to you!! Your weather suits us much better than what we have here. We think we like your kind of Christmas much better without the bitter cold and snow and ice!!! Lots of love, Holly and mom

Golden Samantha said...

That looks like such a perfect Christmas day - BBQ, Swimming, bird singing and lunch al fresco - beautiful! Especially dotted with doggehs all around the estate! A belated Merry Christmas to everybuddy in warmth down there!
Hugs xoxoxo
Sammie, Avalon, Ozzie and Ma

Molly the Airedale said...

What a wonderful way to spend your day!
We are getting snow dumped on us as we speak! yippeeeeeeeeee

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Mrs. JP said...

That looks like wonderful fun. I like the gazebo idea. I'm so glad you had a wonderful Christmas.

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

It is quite chilly here and of course we sibes love it. But the Momster says the idea of a warm yard and a lunch outside sounds wonderful to her.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Two French Bulldogs said...

You guys look like you had a great day. Hope you got to taste that yummE BBQ
Benny & Lily

KB said...

Thanks for describing your Christmas. It's quite hard for me to imagine - a barbeque on Christmas! The thought makes me smile.

Toby is so handsome and has grown up so fast. And, of course, MaxDog's spirit infuses him and all of you.

Merry Christmas to you!

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Such a khontrast of celebratory styles!

Thanks fur sharing!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

rottrover said...

What a wonderful Christmas celebration!! I think Toby is the best gift Tammy-girl ever got! In your last post she looks like a puppy herself! Enjoy your beautiful weather. It's raining again here in "sunny" southern California!

Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like such a fun way to spend Christmas. Hope you all enjoyed it!!! :-)

Pepsi Bum said...

Seems like every hooman and every pup enjoyed the celebration!

Woofs,
Pepsi

Anonymous said...

Looks like you AL had a Pawsome Christmas this year!

We sure are very happy for you and your family!

woo woos, Tessa

Dexter said...

I think this white Christmas stuff is overrated. Give me some sunshine and rolling in the grass any day.

Slobbers,
Mango

MySpecialDoggies said...

Hi Caryl
Can we trade weather - we have over a foot of snow in Philadelphia. We want sun & warmth.

Your pictures are just beautiful - someday Neeli & I will need to go where it's warm for Christmas!

Woofs
Nadine & Neeli
Angel doggie Apples (1994-2010)

Scout and Freyja said...

Let's see: my son picked me up at my place on Christmas Eve to transport me over to his house. The day before Jeff had stopped by to take all of my gifts for his family to put under his tree. Christmas Eve we packed all the food I had made to take with us and we were on our way.

Dinner was ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, lime whipped cream salad and for dessert cheesecake or banana bread. A little warmer than your meal☺

After our family meal we opened gifts for humans as well as all animals (cats and dogs) and then just sat around the fire (inside) an reminisced about Christmas' past and played with the children and their new toys.

Yes, a little different than yours but very much the same when you add the family and love and pets.

How Sam Sees It said...

I wish we had a garden as beautiful as yours! We would spend every moment there.

We are glad you had a full day with friends, families and pups. We are wishing you a wonderful 2011!

Sam

Kasha The Dainty Great Dane said...

Hi Toby,

Looks like you had a lovely Christmas with your family. I would love to have hot Christmas but that is just not to be here. Yesterday we received about 8 inches of snow...yuck!

Thanks for sharing your Christmas with us.

AARF Kasha the Dainty Great Dane

sprinkles said...

Looks like you had a beautiful Christmas! Wish we had warmer weather. It was chilly during the day and just got even colder as the night approached.