Christmas in Australia is held in the middle of summer, so there is a completely different feel to this season compared to other countries, including USA and UK. Christmas in Australia is all about the hot, hot sun, being at the beach, playing with water, and trying to stay cool.
Many families in Australia choose to celebrate their Christmas outdoors or at the beach. They may decide to cook a barbeque or eat seafood and salads for lunch, instead of a heavy and roasted dinner. Christmas in summer is different to celebrating it in winter – it is neither better or worse, just different. Christmas in summer can be fresh, exciting, bold and fun.
One of the biggest seasonal considerations is the types of decorations to choose. Christmas decorations in summer may be more relaxed, more floral and have lighter more summery colours. When you decorate your tree and your home, consider the season that you are decorating in, and ensure that you make the right choices for decorations, and your methods for decorating.
Here are some ideas, for Christmas decorations in summer. There are lots of ways to celebrate Christmas and ensure that your home is completely festive and fun. Use your imagination and creativity and start planning your decorations today. The entire process should be fun and exciting, so let’s get started!
Open up your home, and let the outdoors in
When you celebrate Christmas in summer, you will be spending a lot of your time outdoors. This means that you should not only decorate your indoor living room, but your outdoor spaces as well.
Many Australian families have large backyards, patio areas or verandas around their homes and these should be decorated too. Don’t restrict your decorations to indoors, when you can brighten up your outdoor entertaining areas, and add some sparkle into the areas that you spend the most time in.
Consider using Christmas lights to hang from the rafters and posts of outdoor areas. Can you imagine spending a warm summery night outdoors, being surrounded by the magic and beauty of cascading fairy lights?
You may also like to decorate an outdoor Christmas tree, that brightens up your entire backyard. Choose decorations that are natural, suitable for outdoors or those that can be thrown away if there is a sudden downpour of rain.
Also consider bringing in flowers and natural items from the outdoors, to decorate your home on the inside. You may like to use pine cones, bunches of native flowers, or even pebbles and shells from the beach. Natural items can be used as they are, or young children can decorate them and make them special.
Choose summery colours for a festive home
Escape from the tradition of red and green, and be fresh and adventurous with your summer Christmas decorations. Many families like to use gold, silver and glass colours, that are light and sparkling like the Australian summer sun.
Also consider, soft baby colours, like pinks, pastels and creams. Try using colours of Australian summer fruits, like peaches, mangos and nectarines. There is no reason that you need to keep with heavy and traditional colours of other countries. Embrace the country you live in, and the season that you celebrate Christmas in, and choose lighter and brighter colours for your Christmas decorations.
Choose a summer theme
Christmas decorations, including Christmas cards and wrapping paper, can have an Australian and summer theme. Items may feature concepts such as the beach, ice cream, surfing and spending time with families outdoors.
Ditch the snow, the reindeers and the heavy clothes of Santa Clause. Embrace swimmers and bikinis, kangaroos and surfboards, and remember that summer in Australia is a very special time of year. There is no reason to pretend or wish you were somewhere else, so select a summery theme and decorate your home this Christmas in a true Australian spirit.