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Running Away from Christmas

By the time you read this, I will be in the middle of the South Pacific … running away from Christmas!

Not not really 😉 .

Actually, I will be on a cruise to Noumea, Lifou and Vanuatu* with my 3 best girls: my sister, my best friend since high school, and her sister (who just happens to be my sister’s best friend too – convenient eh?!).

Same ship, different cruise – when the family and I went to NZ in 2012

Every year we try to get away (usually with some other friends as well) for a girlie weekend, and we have the bestest time ever. It’s amazing how affordable a stay at the Coast becomes when you are sharing a unit with half a dozen friends! And there is nothing like it to rest and recharge the batteries.

Proof that I was just as silly on my last visit 5 years ago …

This year we decided to take it to the next level, and run away from our families for an entire week. I think the youngest of our assorted children is now 15; the oldest is 27; and there are a couple of grandchildren in the mix as well … so it was high time.

The only thing I wasn’t fussed on when we initially booked, was the timing: the week before Christmas. What a terrible time to be away! But as one friend is a high school teacher, and another is a school chaplain, we really didn’t have much choice.

Now though, I think that running away before Christmas might just be the BEST. IDEA. EVER!

As the pressure mounts, the shops become busier, the calendar over-fills, and everybody gets crankier … I can’t tell you what a relief it’s been this year to know that I will be away for most of it.

It would be all too easy to make running away a habit. After all, I’ve done it before – like when I ran away to a deserted island for a week to celebrate my 40th birthday!

So think of me as you read this, and I will raise a cocktail and drink your health from the deck of my cruise ship …

On our last cruise, I introduced Miss 18 to the joy of mocktails (after all, she was only 15 back then!)

Do you think running away from Christmas is a good idea, or would you miss all the palaver?!

*I’ve done this cruise before (in 2009 with the hubster and kids) so I already know just how awesome it will be, but it is the first time for two of us.

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