Merry Christmas!!

Our second Christmas in Ireland was another fun one with lots of celebrations. We had two work Christmas parties to go to each, a dinner with our Kiwi and Aussie friends and I had a lunch with my Netball team. All of these festivities, as well as the tonnes of Christmas decorations that Dublin puts up every year, made the lead up to Christmas go at a very fast rate.



Before we knew it we were driving (thanks to the loan of Johnny's work's pool car) down to Cork on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with my rellies. We made it down in around three and a half hours (surprisingly great traffic conditions!) and wandered into Cork City to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere with Clodagh and John that afternoon. That evening we headed out to the Walsh's for dinner and a catch up with Plunkett, Margaret, Conor and Kieran. Later on I got the chance to speak with my family who were already celebrating Christmas Day in New Zealand.

The next morning we were up bright and early to open our Santa presents with the McAuliffes and the Glynns before Mass. There is nothing like having younger kids around to bring a bit more of that magic feel into Christmas! My cousins Conor (2 years old) and Ellen (8 years old) were incredibly excited with all that Santa brought them. After Mass we opened the rest of our presents and in the afternoon we visited my Great-Aunt Aedin and her family at her place. That evening we ate Christmas dinner with the McAuliffes, the Glynns, and my grandparents. A lot of us but the food and company were both fantastic.



Johnny and I decided to make the most of having a car the following day and acted like good tourists, driving out to Killarney and around the scenic 'Ring of Kerry' - a good 200 miles of driving (from Cork and back) but very beautiful and we had great weather for it so it was worth it!



The next day I got up early and joined my other cousins, Niamh and Eimear, in town to catch the post-Christmas sales. The sales over here are great so I managed to pick up quite a few bargains! Once I got back from town Johnny and I had lunch with my grandparents and popped in on Aideen McNally before heading back up to Dublin - a slower drive this time unfortunately.

Although we weren't in New Zealand enjoying the Summer for Christmas this year it was still a special one and a time of year that I am especially grateful to have some family over here to celebrate it with!