A boat is a teeny tiny place for a family to live... and there are hiding places, but certainly not a huge walk-in wardrobe in which to hide all of the Christmas gifts away from the eyes of snooping youngsters. That fact still fascinates me about the childhood Christmas we had on our family 25 footer.... it was the year my sister Cristi got a.... BIKE !!!! Apparently it was only partly assembled and hidden under the floor boards.
As if Father Christmas coming wasn't exciting enough for an 8 & 4 year old, we were also allowed to go to bed that night up in the forepeak (mum & dad's bed). I guess it was so that mum & dad could set everything up while we stayed asleep.
Our Christmas tree was only 2 foot tall, and stood on our tiny dining table in the saloon. For Christmas dinner we still had roast chicken, baked potatoes, veggies and gravy. We cracked bonbons and wore silly hats.
The best part of all was that we wore our new swimsuits all day long, enjoyed the heat of a good Aussie summer Christmas and swam off the side of the boat in between our feasting. Is it any wonder I grew up wanting to go sailing, and find myself a career in sarong and resort wear design.
