Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Well, "down under" in Australia, Christmas falls in the middle of summer. In fact, Christmas day can be over 35° Celsius (over 100° Fahrenheit).

And did you know that while American and European kids are getting ready for bed on Christmas Eve, Australian kids are already awake on Christmas morning and have been up and playing with their new toys for hours? That's because Australia is one of the first countries after the International Date Line, so every day (including Christmas day) reaches Australia and New Zealand before it reaches Asia, Europe, Africa or America.

What do you eat?
Some Australians still serve a traditional hot British-style lunch of roast turkey, pork, ham followed with steamed pudding with brandy custard but most families now have a cold meal. Seafood, cold meats and salads are common choices. Some people have an ice cream pudding for dessert - dried fruit mixed through vanilla, coffee or brandy-flavoured ice cream and shaped like a pudding. Yum! Australians love to have BBQs, but we have to be careful around Christmas time because this is in the middle of our bushfire season.

What do you do on Christmas day?
Being summer, the sun is up very early so some kids are awake and unwrapping their presents as early as 5 am! So the grownups can still get some sleep, some families have a rule that you can't get out of bed until a certain time. After presents are opened, some people enjoy a picnic, and others go to the beach, but most Australians gather with their extended family at someone's home for Christmas lunch. After lunch, kids go swimming, play cricket and play with new toys while the grownups talk or have an afternoon "siesta" (or nap).

Do you still have Christmas trees?
Australians still have traditional Christmas trees, decorated very much like those in the USA, Europe and the UK - with brightly coloured decorations, fairy lights and tinsel.

Does Santa Claus come to Australia?
And Australian children leave out a stocking for Santa Claus just like kids in other countries. Some people believe that when Santa reaches Australia, he leaves his reindeers (who don't like the heat) and 6 white kangaroos pull his sleigh! There's a song about this called "Six White Boomers" ("Boomers" are kangaroos)