This year we spent Christmas back in Hokitika with extended family - so thanks to my sister-in-law Simone for all the photos.

When we arrived on Christmas Eve at lunch time, we could see that the house had been well decorated and the living room was full of lights. However, as it was the middle of the day, none of them were actually turned on. And because Christmas is in summer here in New Zealand, it didn't get dark until about 9pm - but it was certainly worth the wait!

My eldest niece, Amelia, is obsessed with dragons and one of her gifts was a beautiful sparkly dragon mask and tail. It was a very popular present.

Here we are reading 'A Lion in the Meadow' by Margaret Mahy - a book that she loves because it has a DRAGON!

This photo was taken on one of the milder days on a walk along the beach. I don't know what my brother and I were discussing, but it looks engrossing.

The West Coast is notorious for wild, rainy weather. Fortunately, the days we spent in Hokitika were warm and sunny - except for the day we left.

I woke to grey skies and light drizzle, which didn't seem terribly dreadful.

However, the rain keep increasing in volume until, when we were ready to leave in the early afternoon, it was pelting down. In fact, the rain was so torrential that just seeing out of the windscreen was a mission.

I have to admit - even though I have spent the majority of my life on the Coast, I still hate the rain and was relieved to find the sun again in Christchurch.