1. December 2011 Updates: Christmas celebrations

2. Hahgoot decided to write a letter to Santa and send him her gifts wish list

3. Dorothea surprised us with her traditional homemade German Christmas cookies, that every year are better and the variety grows. The girls LOVED them for breakfast!

4. Alma got a butterfly pillow-pet from her friend Alana, in a bag Maria decorated herself (she is a Florist). The present was a success!

5. We gave a present of gardening tools, gloves and seeds to our friendly neighbour Nancy. Sweet big hearted Lily, who came with us to deliver the gift on the route to school, really wanted to give something too so she gave all the flowers she had in her hand.

6. Every day of the last week of school Hahgoot received Christmas cards from friends from school and around Australia. She sat each night to write cards back. She also helped me prepare the gifts for the party in Bondi and for her friends by writing all the gift tags and labels.

7. Hahgoot got lots of candy every day from various friends and neighbours and a special big gift box for both girls from the Walsh family.

8. The last fundraiser event of the year at the school is the big “Christmas at Mortlake” fair, with great rides. It was a great opportunity for Hahgoot to enjoy her friends’ company (here she is with Deena & Charlotte).

9. Having a fun time with Grace

10. The girls joined Lily and brothers at the cookie decorating table

11. Hahgoot’s favourite was the giant bubbles corner

12. Hahgoot tried to show Alma how to do things properly

13. But Alma didn’t need any help exploring...

14. Hahgoot helped Deena and Charlotte decorate their cookies and then ate her huge sausage roll. I had some great Lebanese food, authentically prepared onsite!

15. Charlotte and Jayde enjoyed the huge slide

16. Alma finished off Hahgoot’s sausage roll while watching Charlotte go on the slide again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

17. Alma and Liam enjoyed the soap bubbles While Hahgoot and Charlotte spinned around in the tea cups

18. Then Charlotte and Hahgoot went on the “superfast space rockets”, which were probably the fastest thing around in the early 50s’... The sign seemed ironic considering how slow this thing spun around.

19. Hahgoot stood in line to meet Santa, barely survived the endless wait through the raffle and then asked to go one last time on the spinning cars before we at last went home, exhausted... In our next presentation: Christmas in Bondi