Christmas abroad with kids has looked very different for both of us since moving overseas..
We grew up with hot Aussie Christmases, seafood, ham, swimming, backyard BBQs and family everywhere. Since then, between us we’ve spent Christmas in Thailand, Türkiye, Prague and Romania, and every year seems to look completely different.
And this year, neither of us actually knows where we’ll be on Christmas Day yet. Which honestly sounds about right for us.
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA JUST HAS A FEELING
Carly described Christmas in Australia as “the biggest vibe” and that really is the easiest way to say it. December rolls around and suddenly there are Christmas parties, backyard barbecues, lights going up everywhere and that end-of-year summer feeling that is hard to replicate anywhere else.
For Carly’s family, Christmas Day meant fruit platters, ham and champagne before seafood, swimming, music and a big family day outside. Mine was much the same, with a big roast lunch somewhere amongst the swims, BBQ and hot weather.
Even talking about it made us nostalgic. Carly grew up opposite a cul-de-sac where neighbours linked their lights from house to house and held huge street parties. In our area, a list of decorated houses would go up in the community Facebook group and we’d drive around ticking them off.
They’re normal little things when you’re living there, but once you leave, they become the little things you realise made Christmas feel like Christmas.
CHRISTMAS IN ISTANBUL SURPRISED CARLY
Carly was worried their first Christmas in Istanbul wouldn’t feel very Christmassy. Christmas Day itself is basically a normal day for most people. Chloe goes to school, shops are open and everyone else just gets on with their day.
But Istanbul still gets very festive around the holiday and New Year period. There are trees, lights and decorations throughout the city, and Carly and Chloe made a point of finding something festive to do most weekends in the lead-up.
One of the nicest was a tree lighting at Galataport, where the boats on the Bosphorus lit up as the tree did. They also found winter displays and festive events around the city.
It wasn’t the Christmas Carly grew up with, but Chloe still got that build-up and excitement.
THE CHRISTMAS MARKETS HAVE BEEN A WHOLE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE
This is one area where Carly has me well and truly covered. I’ve never planned a holiday around Christmas markets, while she has now done Prague and several places in Romania.
Prague was their first proper Christmas market trip. There was a huge tree in the main square, warm food, mulled wine, handmade bits and pieces and even a blacksmith working at one of the stalls. They spent about a week there and went through the markets on Christmas Day before heading to a big light display that night.
Romania was more of an adventure. Flights were expensive, so they used an overnight bus to Bucharest before travelling by train through Brașov and Sinaia. Brașov had its market in the main square, but they also went out to Bran Castle and explored the area.
Sinaia was meant to deliver the proper snowy winter-wonderland moment. Of course, the year the Aussies go somewhere is the year it decides not to snow.
Back in Bucharest, the evening markets had food, rides and music. On Christmas Day Carly and Jase took Chloe to an indoor water and spa complex, and their Christmas dinner was a Vietnamese roll from a food truck.
Not traditional, but excellent.
WE TRIED TO MAKE THAILAND FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE HOME
Thailand does Christmas in its own way too. Our first Christmas in Thailand was pretty low-key, but we still wanted parts of it to feel familiar. Swimming and hot weather were easy enough, and Jacob somehow managed to give us an Aussie BBQ even though we didn’t own one.
He went to a garden shop, bought what was basically a big concrete flower planter, put a grill over the top and turned it into a barbecue. We made skewers, cooked outside and ended up with something that felt Australian but was very clearly the Thai version of it.
Then there was the tree… I asked Jacob if we were going to put one up and he basically said there wasn’t much point because we were only planning to live in that villa for the year. So I waited until he flew back to Australia and ordered one on Lazada.
I thought I had picked a sensible small villa tree (and usually you get much less than what you paid for online!). Instead am enormous thing arrived, partly blocked our bedroom doorway and needed a haircut with a pair of scissors just to fit somewhat properly.
I nearly gave it away after Christmas because I was so sure we wouldn’t still be here the following year. But here we are, and the giant bloody tree is still with us.
SOME TRADITIONS ARE WORTH DRAGGING AROUND THE WORLD
Carly has a little stocking advent calendar her mum gave her years ago, and she still puts it up for Chloe wherever they’re living. Elfie still appears, the girls still write Christmas lists and there are still presents under something, even if one year Carly’s “tree” was actually a plant they decorated because they weren’t staying in Istanbul long enough to buy a proper one.
Neither of us is particularly attached to having loads of stuff, so living overseas has stripped Christmas back a little. We’re not buying heaps of ornaments that then need to be stored or moved between countries.
The tree, advent calendar, Christmas movies and Santa list are the bits the girls notice, so those are the bits we keep.
THE PART ABOUT BEING AWAY FROM FAMILY IS COMPLICATED
There are parts of Christmas away from extended family that I genuinely enjoy. We can do our own thing without spending the whole day driving between different family gatherings.
Jacob comes from a big family and his birthday is also Christmas Day, so there have definitely been years in Australia where Christmas felt like we were constantly rushing from one place to another. A quieter day with just the three of us can be really nice.
But there is another side to it. My grandparents can’t just jump on a plane and come to Thailand, and every Christmas I don’t spend with them there is a part of me that feels like I should be there. Carly feels the same about Chloe missing Christmas with her cousins and the big family chaos she would have in Australia.
We call family, involve everyone where we can and make it work, but it still doesn’t feel the same as having everyone together.
You can enjoy the freedom of doing Christmas your own way and still miss the people who would normally be part of it.
AND THEN THERE IS THE COST OF CHRISTMAS TRAVEL
When we recorded this, I was trying to work out Jacob’s flights around Kaia’s birthday and Christmas, and the December prices were making me want to cry.
Suddenly we were doing the usual travel maths. Does he fly backwards and forwards? Do Kaia and I fly back instead? Does the Christmas plan change completely because the flights are ridiculous?
That is the part that can make Christmas travel expensive very quickly.
Once we’re actually in Thailand, Christmas itself can be cheaper. We’re not buying for a huge extended family or doing an enormous Australian Christmas food shop. But if getting everyone where they need to be involves peak-season flights, savings disappear pretty quickly.
PRESENTS STILL WIN WHEN YOU’RE A KID
We finished the episode with some very serious Christmas questions. Beach or snow? Markets or shopping centres? Roast or seafood? Presents or experiences?
Carly and I are both generally more interested in experiences than accumulating stuff, but when it came to Christmas with kids, we both picked presents.
There is just something about being little and waking up on Christmas morning wondering what Santa brought.
Carly has also started taking Chloe shopping to choose a present for somebody else, which gives her a bit of ownership over the giving side too.
We also established that using Santa’s naughty-and-nice list for behavioural assistance is apparently acceptable from around October.
Excellent. Very useful information.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After all the different Christmases we’ve had, I still think I choose Christmas at home. The only difference now is that “home” doesn’t automatically mean Australia.
For me, Christmas in our villa in Thailand can be Christmas at home because this is where our life is right now. I can put up the ridiculous tree, Jacob can build another questionable barbecue and we can spend the day swimming with Kaia.
For Carly, home might be Istanbul one year and somewhere else the next.
Travelling has still given us some really good Christmas memories. Markets in Prague, a not-quite-white Christmas in Romania, a Vietnamese roll for dinner, tree lightings in Istanbul and our improvised Aussie Christmas in Thailand.
But Carly also said something during the episode that stuck with me. Christmas in another country can feel lonely.
You’re not in the family group chat working out who is bringing what. The cousins aren’t all going mad together. You don’t have the usual noise and chaos around you.
That doesn’t mean Christmas overseas isn’t special. It just means you can be really happy with where you are and still miss home at the same time.
I think that’s probably what we’ve learnt from all of it. Christmas doesn’t have to look the same every year to still be special. Ours definitely hasn’t, and I doubt it will anytime soon.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE
In this special Season 1 bonus episode of the Kids Who Travel Podcast, we’re getting properly into the Christmas spirit and talking about what Christmas looks like when you live and travel overseas with kids.
We go from the hot Australian Christmases we grew up with to Christmas in Thailand and Türkiye, European Christmas markets in Prague and Romania, expensive December flights, family traditions, presents and the reality of being away from the people you love.
There is also a gigantic Lazada Christmas tree, a barbecue made from a flower planter and a Christmas dinner involving a Vietnamese roll.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
Where are you spending Christmas this year? Have you celebrated overseas before, or are you firmly on team Christmas at home? Come and tell us on Instagram at @kidswhotravelpodcast.