Continuing our weekly series on life in Queenstown as seen by a backpacking seasonal worker who's gone home for a holiday.
People say that your first Christmas away from home is hard, simply because it's a significant holiday to be spending without your family.
Last Christmas was my first one spent away from home, and I was in Sydney, with friends, in the blistering heat, hungover and present-less and more than content to have Christmas be a little different from the past 20 years.
And because it was so unlike any Christmas I had ever spent in Ireland, I wasn't reminded of home much at all; just rang a few family members and that was it; it was absolutely fine.
What people don't talk about is your first Christmas spent back home.
What to expect, what not to expect.
This year, it seems to be a little different, not just different compared with last year but compared with all the other years.
Because things with the economy are less than great, people are approaching the day differently; there are less parties than other years, people aren't getting their usual Christmas bonuses, that kind of thing.
People are even driving up to Northern Ireland to do their shopping this year (for those of you who don't know, Northern Ireland is a part of Britain, therefore with the sterling things are cheaper).
There are some things that are still the same.
Like why is it, that every year, the build-up to Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier, (and never fails to be annoying) yet it still manages to creep up on you so quickly, that it's suddenly Wednesday next week and you've bought nothing? It doesn't bother me as I plan to do my shopping within a couple of hours and my wrapping in a couple of minutes, unlike my sister who started her shopping before Halloween and is whinging away in the background that she's spent over 1300 on presents this year, and no-one should expect anything from her next year because she'll be in some hot country away from it all.
And now my mum is moaning that the whole day is down to her "as usual", yet has a smiley face on her when my aunty offers to take over and cook Christmas dinner for everyone.
Just the usual Christmas spent with my loved ones!
