XMAS

Christmas in the tropics can be a wonderful experience, although a very different one to those used to cold or white Christmases. Having said that, one of the weird things is that the street and shop decorations draw on just that. Everywhere you will see Santa in his red suit and ‘snow’ flakes in the windows. Some expatriates go for the traditional baked turkey, ham etc but the climate is better suited to cold meats, salad and seafood.

There is a Carols by Candlelight service on the harbour front and the trees and main street becomes awash with fairy lighting. One Christmas, we hosted lunch for ten adults and twelve children. We ate outside, on the lawn, with a selection of cold pork, ham, prawns, lobster, fish and salads. After lunch, the adults played petanque while the kids frolicked, swimming and canoeing in the lagoon. Lunch leftovers turned into dinner and before you could say, “knock off the singing, go home, it’s midnight” it was, well, midnight.

If you are visiting at Christmas and get invited to an expat lunch, accept it. A number of resorts put on a sumptuous feast, but you’ll probably have a few more stories if you mix with the locals!

X-RATED