It was hot at our farm in summertime. And Christmas was spent with our (Great) Aunt Linda and (Great) Aunt Anne and (Great) Aunt Doris in Sydney.

Mum and Dad tried to beat the heat of the 6 hour drive from Bogan Gate to Mosman in Sydney. We were lifted from our beds in the semi-darkness of early morning, and placed like floppy dolls in the family car. Mum would pack egg and olive, and ham and mustard sandwiches, and thermos flasks of hot water to make tea. She always travelled with frozen water as well. We would stop at a park in a town, have our sandwiches and use the public toilets (avoiding sitting on the seats).

The trip with 4 small children took ‘til early afternoon. We loved finally getting to the big city and Mum would say; “Quiet now, your Father has to concentrate on the traffic.” Excitement grew until we arrived at 2A Ryrie Street in Mosman.

After Great Aunt kisses, we would unpack the car and organise our things. Afternoon tea at the Aunts always included their home-made biscuits, crunchy and buttery, but a little bit chewy as well. The perfect biscuits!

Mum and Dad always took us for a very long drive on Christmas Eve to see the pretty Christmas lights all over the nearby suburbs. We didn’t realise then that they were making us really sleepy so that we would go straight to bed and Santa could make his secret visit.

In the morning we discovered our Santa presents, and spent Christmas Day playing with our new Baby Dolls.