So this is Christmas ...

Christmas in the Mulligan household has a number of traditions, and can also go on for a while!

It starts, of course, with the acquisition of a Christmas Tree, and then it's installation in a crock in a corner of the lounge.

And then it has to be decorated.
This year, most of that task fell to Jayne, as Charlotte now lives in Wellington.
In the meantime, our native 'Christmas tree', a pohutukawa, had come into full bloom, a glorious spray of deep red.
But when the inside version is finished, and the gifts begin to appear beneath it, you know Christmas is almost upon us.
Christmas Eve was spent visiting Sarah and Craig, for takeway tea, more food, and videos. And then a growing sense of anticipation.
This year, Christmas Day was bright, sunny, calm, and warm - unusual in the Wellington region. Consequently, the kids were able entertain themselves outside playing petanque, and sitting in the swing-seat.
Gareth, visiting Charlotte from the UK, joined us for a couple of days.
There is a limit to how patient one can be while standing in the hot sun waiting for Craig to take a photo of the three sisters.
One of the critical tasks of the day is to set the dinner table. This year the theme was 'purple'.
	Desiree & I seemed to spend most of the early part of the afternoon in the kitchen.
We did take time out to exchange presents.
(No prizes for guessing who these were for!)
And then it was time to load the table with food, and indulge. Needless to say we did just that!
And that left the evening for a very slow game of Trivial Pursuit, and bit of music and, of course, dessert. And then sleep.
Which then brought us to Boxing Day. Left-over food. Tidying up. And then the cousins turned up for games, more food and old-fashioned craic! Oh, and a little petanque.
And then, as the evening set in, the lads watched the cricket, while the kids started Whoonu, and then Trivial Pursuit.
And then the day after Boxing Day, all that was left to do was to show Gareth, our UK visitor, why New Zealand used to be called the 'shaky isles'.
	That's Gareth standing on the fault scarp or slope, of the Wellington Fault at Harcour Park in Upper Hutt. In other words, standing where the earth's surface moves.
	These fungi were growing in bark chips and debris below a large conifer.
Once the serious geography lesson and touristy photo opportunity were out of the way, fun called!

And finally, This is Christmas, John Lennon-style.