Written By Kerry Naughton
Alcohol, Money and Food
Hmmmm, all I want for Christmas? I was dancing along to the classic hit by Mariah Carey this morning (My annual ritual to prepare me for the festive season) when I got to thinking about, well, gifts! We all have Christmas lists and desires, Christmas can be seductive and often teases these with promises and then snatches them away at the final moment. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but the point is it’s very easy to get consumed by the material side of Christmas, whereby we all spend far too much money, drink far too much alcohol and eat far too much food. I must admit I quite enjoy the eating and drinking side, it’s only for a couple of days and it gives you a perfect resolution for the New Year, like ‘Stop Eating Cake’.
What about Jesus?
What happened to the magic? Or baby Jesus for that matter? I’ve recently got a little older and have had to come to the realization that Mr. Santa Claus was actually just my mum and dad (way to do role play guys), and it seems that magical side of Christmas and the excitement of wanting to know what gifts I’ll receive has waned. That doesn’t mean I don’t like receiving presents. I do. I also like giving (I don’t know when that happened) and I really enjoy the whole process of choosing, buying and wrapping the gifts.
Friends and Family 
It is as if I’m a completely different person to the me that existed 10 years ago. What I want for Christmas now are the simple things; to be surrounded by my friends and family, to have a stress free Christmas (no last minute shopping), to have a few days off from work and to get to see all my family, cousins, uncles and aunties that I don’t get to see very often.
This will be my second Christmas since returning from China (I lived there for a year). Last year I was a bit strapped for cash after returning from my China and Asia adventure so I couldn’t afford to go out and celebrate the festive season in the way that I wanted to. This year however, I’m looking forward to going all out! Parties, food, Santa, you name it! I’m particularly excited about my annual trip to the pantomime on Christmas Eve; it’s a tradition of my mother and I.
A Hong Kong Christmas
I’ve learnt that Christmas is just like any other day if you’re not religious, the thing that makes it different is the presence of your friends and family. Two years ago I spent Christmas in China without my family so I had no presents to open on Christmas day and no Turkey to look forward too.
Surprisingly, I still managed to have a great day. Myself and a certain GetGo editor went to Hong Kong with our Chinese friend and had a different kind of Christmas which started with lunch in Starbucks (very classy). This was by no means our first choice, but due to our poor planning skills we missed the early train to Hong Kong and had to sit around waiting for the next one for the best part of the day. When we finally arrived in Hong Kong we spent over 2 hours searching for our Hostel which upon arrival turned out to be far from what we were expecting. The hostel was being managed by one very chatty Chinese woman who was more like a substitute mom than a hostel manager. I mean, this woman had no boundaries, for example, we’d be getting changed in our very florescent and small room and she would just walk right in and start helping us adjust our clothing. I was in my bra! Then, when we wanted to leave she told us that there was no room key and that she would guard the door! (Which she did; when we got back at 5am, there she was sleeping on a blow up bed outside our door) Erm ok, so off we went to find a restaurant that served Christmas dinner, we eventually found one, however the atmosphere was far from a Christmas one, it felt like a lovers retreat. There was a dance floor filled with couples and the most nauseating and slushy romantic music that I have ever heard. After dinner, we needed to erase this from our memories so we hit the bars and clubs hard and eventually got swept along in the Christmas cheer. So I’ve learnt you can even have a good Christmas without your family and gifts, even if it is a little bizarre. The important thing is to keep the Christmas cheer with you, which can always be helped by a little alcohol. What do I want for Christmas day next year? I want to have a BBQ in Australia, jumping to trance music with Kangaroos. But this year I’ll settle with my family Christmas in Wales.
Want to see more and experience more? please visit: http://www.beingfunchina.com/magazine/the-getgo-vol-14/now!
