Can there be Christmas without snow?
The common critique heard amongst our cruising friends is that “it just doesn’t feel like Christmas.” We feel the same way too. With the absence of snow, holiday shopping crowds and early-morning gift opening with our families, it’s just different. Not bad, of course, because who can complain when they’re in the tropics, but different.
Last night we celebrated Christmas Eve at our favorite St. Maarten watering hole Barnacles. After happy hour they served up some Greek lasagna and the 50+ cruisers exchanged gifts. They did that in quite a fun way too. Each cruiser was instructed to find something on their boat that they wanted to part with. No money was to be spent. When the time came to pass out the gifts, we each drew a number from a hat. In numerical order we were then allowed to come up and choose one of the wrapped gifts from the pile. We opened them in front of everyone and then had the chance to either keep what we selected (temporarily it would frequently turn out) or swap with any of the people who went before us. This made the entire thing quite entertaining as the better of the gifts changed hands frequently. Neither Rebecca nor I ended up with what we initially picked. Fun stuff!
This morning we celebrated our alternative Christmas by visiting famous Maho Beach again, this time with our new friends Cathy and Markus. We were on the beach shortly after 9:00 AM and for a little while had the place almost to ourselves. Not a bad way to start the day.
Later today we’ll be gathering with 20 or so of our closest cruising buddies to share an almost-like-home Turkey dinner. Knowing these guys, I’m quite sure that more silliness will ensue following the meal.
Do we miss spending the holidays with our families? Of course, but we know that they’re all having good times themselves. Do we miss the snow? A little bit but I’m sure a weekend at a ski resort would satisfy our craving for the white stuff. Do we miss the rest of the holiday madness that happens back in North America? Not one bit. We’ll take a laid-back island Christmas anytime!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Having spent three Christmas’s in Sydney, I have zero complaints about snow. Some Aussies even complain about Northern Hemisphere folks that always talk about a white Christmas. I prefer to go where the snow ain’t..
Merry Christmas, awesome pics of St. M..
We are not at all “snow” people but do enjoy skiing and snowboarding, something a short-term vacation could likely satisfy.
No fair guys! The rest of us back on land are getting fat eating too much holiday junk and your two are looking more buff than ever!
We drink “light” beer. 😉
Santa brought me a new main sheet! We celebrated our first FL x-mas sailing for few hours, 85F here. Not warm enough to swim but close, much better than snow (you know that). Best to you both.
I think that’s better weather than there was in FL last Xmas. Enjoy that new main sheet!
Merry Christmas! What a fun way to spend it at the beach. Also I think it’s awesome that there were 50 cruisers to play White Elephant with. I didn’t think there would be that many. Glad you had a merry time!
Dani
There are a LOT of cruisers in St. Martin. Having such a big group together sure did make it fun. Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays to you both. Thanks for writing the blog to share your experience. I’ve learned much about sailing terminology and equipment from your insights…..and Rebecca is a health and fitness inspiration for me. Be Well!
Thanks Sandra. Same to you. BTW, Rebecca is an inspiration to me too!
Looks like a great Christmas … love that last picture of the two of you!
Me too:)
Christmas in the sun is great. Been celebrating Christmas without snow for as long as I can remember. Besides, it doesn’t snow in Bethlehem… If it can be Christmas there without snow it can be Christmas anywhere!
With respect to your cruisers gift exchange, we call it a Chinese Gift Exchange. Hold one at our annual Christmas party every year. Always great fun. It is more about the pursuit than the actual gift.
Having a great time following you two and dreaming of my own escape. Keep up the good work!
Thanks John. Hope you have a great new year!