What are your Holiday traditions?

Shirley, I just loved your post!  It took me back thru many years of Christmas memories.  And Diana, I LOVE TransSiberian Orchestra - I think I have all their Christmas records.  I usually take the week before Christmas off so I can shop, bake, decorate, etc. without a lot of stress.  We still have a real tree, so it usually goes up the weekend before Christmas if we want it to last til Epiphany.  We always get together with my husband's two brothers and their families and have a potluck dinner.  I do have Christmas music going all the time, from Thanksgiving to New Year. 

I know the feeling, Wolf.  I grew up in Pennsylvania and when we moved here, it just wasn't the same.  I must say I do prefer January in Arizona to January in PA though. 

In the higher elevations, yes.  But very rarely in Phoenix.  I think maybe 3 times in the 26 years I've lived here.  One time, back in the mid 80's it was early AM, about 5:00 and I looked out and saw snow in the streetlight, but I thought, Naw, can't be.  So I went outside and sure enough it was.  I sent my hubby to the store to get film for the camera.  lol.  at 5:30 AM.

Flagstaff, which is 2 hours from here, is at 7,000 feet.  They measure their snowfalls in feet instead of inches.  But that's the great thing about here.  You can ski in the morning at Flagstaff and golf two hours later in Phoenix.  When we want to see snow, we just take a little ride.  But we don't have to shovel it the next day.  It's great!!

There was snow here only a month ago in Bathurst about 4 hours away by fast car.

There are the snow fields in the Snowy Mountains NSW, and in parts of Victoria.

They have ski resorts there too, don't they?

That's for sure and winter games , here's a link for you , heaps of stuff here.

   www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne

Very cool, Wolf!  You don't usually associate Australia with winter sports.  I saw the International Pirate Day link on the Mt. Buller site.   (that's a pirate without his eye patch lol)