Merry Christmas everyone from all of us at Christine’s Magical Garden.
As Christmas Day approaches, the flowering gum trees in our magical garden are bursting with vivid, fluffy red blossoms. Their magnificent displays add a colourful backdrop to the excitement and anticipation of special times with special friends, such as our once-a-year visitors, the Christmas Beetles! Buzzy and friends enjoy the annual reunions with their summertime buddies, and they share stories with each other about the year that has been.
For me, as a child growing up in Australia, the arrival of Christmas Beetles heralded the end of the school year and the start of our summer school holidays. Those long, hot, sunny days seemed an endless paradise of fun and games with friends and family.
While holding the beetles carefully, I enjoyed the feel of their tiny claws tickling the palms of my hands as they crawled around.
I fondly remember the activities with my family that counted down to Christmas Day, such as decorating the tree (I felt lucky to have a real one), hanging Christmas cards around the lounge room, baking mince pies and shortbread, and eagerly awaiting the daily chocolates which were hidden behind numbered doors on our advent calendars.
In Christine’s Magical Garden, Buzzy and Chompy delight in decorating the beehive and lavender bush with red blossoms from the flowering gum tree.
They adore baking treats and sharing adventure-filled days with their dear friends, Chirpy, Busy and Lively. There’s always a friendly cricket match after lunch on Christmas Day. Busy is on a ‘hat-trick’: she has bowled Chirpy out in their last two games. Will she be skilful enough, with perhaps just a touch of luck, to bowl him out for the third time in a row?
Many families enjoy their own annual traditions and the arrival of keenly anticipated visitors. These present important opportunities to create cherished and long-lasting memories for the years to come. It is a wonderful time for storytelling; to remember past times and to capture the hearts and minds of adults and children alike through their imaginations.
Our magical garden community thrives on the joy of giving. Over the Christmas period children can visit the garden and listen to a story about Buzzy which is beautifully narrated by John, and contains a secret tip for the garden as well as a fun test. In our Activities section, children may download complimentary images for colouring-in, without limits. These allow them to create their own unique gifts for one another. In this way, children can participate in spreading the happiness associated with giving to others, while learning to appreciate giving as being the true meaning of Christmas.
As a psychotherapist, I know too that the Christmas season is a difficult time for some, and I extend my respect and understanding to those people.
Buzzy, Chompy, Chirpy, Busy and Lively look forward to sharing more stories, adventures, fun and games in the coming year.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas!
