Christmas in July, you may ask? Here in the southern hemisphere we’re in the dead of winter during July. With chilly nights and knitted jumpers, we took it upon ourselves to book in for a Christmas dinner. Miracle or madness? Read on to find out.
What gave us the idea?
We’d heard of other Aussies celebrating the festive season in July, thought it was sweet, but never decided to plan one for ourselves. After all, it may be winter, but we’re getting sunny forecasts of 24C here on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
We’d learned of a place called Montville when Ben got a haircut by a women from Kent. He was assured the views will remind us of Scotland. The next day, driving through the village nestled in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Montville gives you a charming impression of a Welsh village. Wood working shops, trinket shops, fudge, pottery, all the good stuff. We walked the length of the shopping strip with cozy cafes and chocolate shops and arrived at Montville Pub and Grill.
Tudor style with black beams contrasting against white paint. There aren’t many pubs here that remind you of their English counterpart, so this one was felt special. As we kept walking I groaned “ugh Christmas decorations, really”. I’d felt like it spoiled the cozy British vibe. Christmas decorations left out for too long really do bug me. Then we saw the poster. “Christmas in July every Saturday night”. That explains the decorations.
Count us in!
Roast Turkey, honey baked ham, roast veg. Sold. Sold sold sold. We hadn’t had a roast dinner in 8 months. And the Christmas we’d had in Australia was lovely, but so bloody warm. At least now there’s a bit of chill in the wind, I can put on a knit and be comfortable and cozy.
Decision made, we booked our table and prepared to get excited for the festivities that lie ahead. Ben made his famous hot chocolate and we sipped it on a bench outside. The Sunshine Coast hinterlands sprawled out beneath us, steam twisting and dancing in the sunlight. We discussed our giddy hopes for our little christmas in July.
No room for plebs at the inn
The sun went down and the air became chillier. We walked down to the pub and saw people in three piece suits, whereas I was in leggings and a rainbow jumper and Ben kept his shorts and a hoodie on from the day.
“Are you guys looking for dinner?” What seemed to be the boss asked us as we approached the pub.
“Yeah!” I replied excited and ready for a roast.
“Keep going down the end of the road, we have another restaurant with food.”
We were a bit confused after that and realised he didn’t think we were here for Christmas. Ben immediately felt underdressed and ran back to the van to put on something a bit more Christmassy (blue jeans and a green fleece).
I went inside and explained we’d booked a table for Christmas
“It should be under Lauren for 2 people”
“Oh yes, so you have!”
I’d like to point out that we obviously knew it was Christmas dinner, but we didn’t think about a dress code- how does one dress for a July Christmas in Australia? It’s not like we have our entire wardobe with us either so formal, chirstmas specific attire is not something we currently possess.
Christmas in July
I was shown to our table outside beside a heater and waited for Ben to return. We popped our crackers, told the jokes and put on the hats. Spoke fondly of Christmas memories and what we’d like our christmases to look like in the future.
The experience was lovely, and probably a core memory for us as our first (and very much likely last) Christmas in July. But it was also pretty comical.
The food was… not what you’d expect for Christmas. The starter of pumpkin soup required my weight in salt for some flavour, then our main finally came after over an hour of waiting.
We’d adjusted our expectations for a roast dinner (it is Australia after all) but were still left a little disappointed by what greeted us after waiting so long.
Whoever decided mushy peas should be present on that plate was on crack or perhaps just completely out of their mind. Coupled with cranberry sauce, one (very dry) ball of stuffing (even Aunt Bessie’s would blow this out of the park).
The star of the show was the honey roasted ham, but it was almost outshined by the giant slice of pumpkin (pumpkin???) on the plate. There was a white meat of sorts, with no flavour so we couldn’t fully decide whether it was chicken or turkey. I found one slice of carrot and two new potato’s. Ben also had a rogue sweet potato too.
I mean, maybe the cooks started their celebrations early and were half cut when they began cooking that. It really made me miss an English roast dinner. This was the first we’d had in 8 months, so you can imagine we were a bit disappointed. Dare I say I think I had better meals in hospital.
We decided to take our desserts to go, which was a christmas pudding with custard. Ben found this pairing questionable, educating me that it should be served with cream or brandy butter, but I don’t really like christmas pud.
None for Gretchen Wieners
We’d decided against getting presents for each other because we still haven’t been paid, so when Santa Claus came round, giving handfuls of sweets to tables we were giddy at the thought of unwrapped some toffees or caramels for ourselves. Well, apparently we’d both been a bit naughty this year, because even though old St. Nick came round and said Merry Christmas to us, he decided not to treat us with the same merriment and gave us zero treats (none for Gretchen Weiner).
First and last Christmas in July
I have to say, we gave Christmas in July a go, but it wasn’t for us it would seem. We left with our desserts in a takeaway box. At least the mulled wine was tasty.
