December 24, 2015
A quiet Christmas Eve together at home. And of course, Michael can’t do Christmas without some eggnog, rum and cinnamon!
Also spent the night baking some of my favourite white chocolate & cranberry cookies to share on Christmas.
December 25, 2015
Merry Christmas!
We slept in, which was glorious. And then we opened presents together… our 5th Christmas together, how I love this man!
We agreed not to spend too much on each other for Christmas presents this year (around $150)… gotta save up for the wedding!
Some stocking stuffers from Mike – I think he got me the Toblerone because it’s his favourite and he knew I would share π
A card from Michael’s parents
Some of Michael’s stocking stuffers
The Paediatric Ward did a Secret Santa gift exchange… I got some beautiful earrings and a notebook – thank you Santa!
Gifts from my sister… all the way from Canada, thank you so much!
Michael was so incredibly proud of his Christmas presents to me, and to be honest, I was amazed! He got me so many great things at such incredible deals, he stayed within the budget!
I’ve always wanted a wicker picnic basket, and this one had 4 complete sets of stainless steel dinnerware and cutlery! And now that we have a beautiful island to visit, he’s bought me some fins to complete my snorkel gear. And a ground pad and inflatable pillow for camping (after getting me a sleeping bag earlier in the year!) And a girl can never have too many underwear – thank you so much my love!
Some of my gifts for Michael. Friends made fun of me for getting him a textbook but I thought as this is his current, most serious, decision in life – it would never hurt to have a good (recommended) reference book
This was our first year away from family at Christmas, a little sad! But so kind of Nerissa to invite us to join for lunch with her parents (Aunt Neetha and Uncle Danny) visiting from Brisbane. We had a great time and it felt like having a family away from home π
Old man Jin helping with lunch
Started with a fresh watermelon and prawn salad with feta, mint and proscuitto
We were treated to a full home cooked dinner complete with a turkey! And even got to try a different styled stuffing with a base from chicken liver, something tasty we’ve never had before!
We had no idea, but there was even a gift exchange, which was so lovely! Thank you so much to everyone for including us two Christmas Orphans!
How cute are these two?
Garrett mugs for everyone!
A Corelle set from Jess & Jin, mug from Garrett, Spa kit + men’s set from Aunt & Uncle… thank you so much guys!
Love you guys!
Dessert
With these avid fishers, once the topic of fishing came up… it didn’t stop π Not only did they go down to fish in the evening, they also made plans to go fishing bright and early the following day π
Thank you so much to our friends for a warm and beautiful Aussie Christmas celebration!
December 26, 2015
Family Christmas get together in Ottawa! Got to skype the g-parents the join the fam jam π
Even from afar they think of us too β€
These two!
A beautiful Christmas gift from Amanda – diffuser with mood lighting
A few days later, a package came in the mail for us – from Michael’s parents!
So many delicious goodies!
And some beautiful Christmas cards from our friends β€