The idea for “Christmas in July” supposedly came from the Blue Mountains. European visitors who were missing winter back home. From this sentiment came a string of hotels and restaurants all rushing around to recreate a Christmas that Europeans would recognise and savour. Whether or not this works as a good substitute is hard to say. It has become popular with some hoteliers and traders in the Blue Mountains and has spread its way down to Sydney. So we say Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Xmas everybody! And a happy new month?
What an excellent question!
Christmas in July’s last bastion of strength appears to be Sydney Harbour. Maybe we should ice over the harbour! We could put the boats on skis and attach reindeer to the front. 🙂 Alternatively see this two and half hour cruise as a perfect combination of one the top things to do in Sydney combined with the joy of Christmas.
If you aren’t all that keen on Christmas afloat you could just ‘High Tea’ it on land instead.
I’m personally not overly familiar with how Christmas is celebrated in Ireland but the pub P J Obrien’s are determined to bring it to us. This includes “a delicious traditional festive menu” [and food is not bad either :)] with Mulled Wine. You will need to book.
If you prefer to do your own thing just celebrate at home. This might seem like a good idea at first except think of the work involved. Maybe just dinner with a Christmas flavour to it will suffice. Hope you get lots of nice presents
Christmas in July? In the Blue Mountains it’s Christmas everyday! Well every day from June…more likely July to August. Up here it’s known as ‘Yulefest’ and it’s the second best reason to visit (after the mountains themselves of course).
If you’ve never experienced ‘Yulefest’ then you’re in for a Christmas treat. Many of the region’s guesthouses, hotels, motels, resorts and restaurants provide all the treats, and trappings, of a traditional northern hemisphere Christmas. We are talking turkey here folks along with ham and chicken and stuffing and the cranberry sauce and the Christmas pudding. This is an enlarging experience.
All this food is accompanied by live entertainment, from carols around the piano, to live shows, dancing and bush bands. Yulefest appears to be mostly aimed at adults. This may change over time of course, (we give it about five months 🙂 but if you were thinking of taking your kids up the mountains to meet Santa like we were, well, you might want to reconsider.
Reindeer can be a little hard to find in Australia, even in the Blue Mountains, but kangaroos are a close approximation in a bouncy kind of way.
The beauty of the wilderness of the Blue Mountains Heritage listed National Park scenery is the main attraction for most so to be able to experience it with tiny bit of Christmas thrown in is the icing on the cake. Open fires, traditional Christmas fare and winter warming drinks all help to make July in the Mountains a magical experience.
Jenolan Caves, Leura Gardens, Carrington Hotel are just some of the places that celebrate Yulefest but this is far from a comprehensive list and it changes each year. Follow the link below for more options and details.
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