christmas contest

White Christmas Pro: Power is cheaper so more people decorate their house.

After surviving my first not-quite-white-but-really-cold-Christmas in North America, I feel equipped to compare it to my previous 25 mostly-warm-with-the-occasional-rainy-day Christmas I'm used to in Australia.

White Christmas pros:

• The Christmas lights look better, and since it gets dark at 4.30pm, you can enjoy them for longer. Who has the time to stay up till 10pm when it's dark to go look at lights?
• A roast turkey and accompanying hot vegetables is just what I feel like.
• A lot of Christmas carols mention snow, so they are more believable.
• Peppermint Mocha's at Starbucks. And yes, dear server, I will send it back if you forget the chocolate sprinkles on top.
• It's cold enough for a Bridget-Jones style Christmas sweater. I mean jumper.

White Christmas Pro: The lights at Van Dusen Botanical Garden close at 9pm. That's nearly
5 hours of night-time viewing. Wouldn't and couldn't happen in Australia.

Warm Christmas pros:

• It's stone fruit season. And there are fresh berries.  
• Christmas shopping is easier when you're not wearing five layers of clothing and carrying a big jacket.
• Backyard cricket and Boxing Day cricket.

White Christmas cons:

• It's too cold outside to have outdoor carols. There's also a 93.5% chance of rain. That's slightly higher than the odds in Tasmania.
• North Americans don't know what pavlova is. Therefore they don't make it for dessert. Christmas without pav? Definition of sacrifice.

Warm Christmas Pro: Pavlova. Enough said.

Warm Christmas cons:

• It's too hot for roast turkey and vegetables, but it doesn't quite feel like Christmas without it.
• Power prices have risen so much that nobody can afford to decorate their houses. Legislation suggestion: discounted power for those who put on a show for the festive season.
• My feet get too hot when I wear fuzzy Christmas socks.

After weighing up both sides, I'm leaning towards a summer Christmas. In the end it came down to the pav. But if there had been snow, it might be a different story. Until next year...