We’re nearly there everyone. The festive season is upon us, wrapping up another year and enriching minds, bodies and souls with holidays and get-togethers with loved ones. Really, is there any better time of the year? To get you off on the right foot, here are five sure-fire tips to help you live this festive season to the fullest.
1. Deck the Halls
Nothing brings a family together like putting up the Christmas tree and decorating the house (inside and out) and yard with Christmas lights and assorted other festive decorations. If you’re planning to deck the halls for Christmas 2019, there are very many specialty retailers, party stores and the craftiest of craftspeople in the Macarthur area who have all the fixings you need to get decking this Christmas. Here are some ideas for where to start. And if you plan on going all out with the decorating this Christmas, we’d love to know. Drop us a note via the Catherine Park Estate Facebook page, and we will let resident’s know where they can go to marvel at your wonders.
2. Ready, Set, Bake
Christmas brings out the baking wizard and master chef in even the least ambitious cooks among us. The warm nostalgia of family get-togethers during the holidays just has that warm, positively intoxicating effect on us. Of course, with the arrival of the festive season comes an influx of mouths to feed.
Delight family and friends with your baking and cooking prowess. Try something with an exotic twist, such as Danish pastry mince pies, Canadian Christmas butter tarts, or a Christmas pudding custard pastry braid, or stick with the tried and true Aussie Christmas staples like pavlova, fresh seafood and steak on the Bar-Bee-Q. And the best part? There’ll be plenty of leftovers for your Boxing Day bash – no matter what you plate up on Christmas Day.
3. Christmas is a Glow
There are many benefits to living in the fine Macarthur region, not least of which come Christmas time is the oh so convenient access to some of the very best Christmas lights displays in all of Sydney. Load up the car with family and friends and trundle around ‘til your Christmas light-seeking soul is satisfied. Here’s the pick of the bunch according to your local experts (that would be us):
• Camden: Mount Annan, Narellan and The Cascades.
• Campbelltown: Bradbury, Kearns, and Glen Alpine.
• Wollondilly: Tahmoor, Thirlmere and Lakesland.
4. Carol ‘Til You Can Carol No More
The local councils in the Macarthur region sure know how to delight us locals with cracking (and free) Christmas Carol events that offer fun-filled fanfare for the entire family. Here’s where you can carol ‘til your carolling heart is content this Christmas season. And did we mention that there’s fireworks and fairy floss? Here’s where and when the carolling is going down:
• Camden: Friday December 20 at Gledswood Homestead & Winery, from 6pm. More info available here.
• Campbelltown: Saturday December 7 at The Athletics Centre (Campbelltown Sports Stadium), from 5pm. More info available here.
• Wollondilly: Friday December 13 at Picton Botanic Gardens, from 4pm. More info available here.
5. Put Your Feet Up
Simply sitting and doing nothing is completely underrated. It’s so easy to get carried away with all the obligations and pre-occupations that come with the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays season. It can be enough to make you want to take a holiday…from your holiday!
Make sure this holiday season includes some down time for you and yours. Plans are great, but sometimes the best made plans are the plans that aren’t made at all. Sleep in, roll out of bed late, go for a dawdle around Catherine Park Estate and embrace the calming, natural setting, and just see where the day takes you. After all, when you live in Catherine Park Estate, there’s plenty to explore right outside your front door.
