Christmas has always been a very special day for me and is one that I always look forward to. I can’t believe that this Christmas would be my third one here in Australia. Oh, how time flies! For this year’s Chrissy, we’ve decided to spend some time in Brisbane as we did last year. The only difference this time, I guess, is that we’ll be trying to keep the money spent for this trip on a minimum.
In this blog post, I’m going to be sharing a bit about what my husband and I have planned for our little Christmas staycation on a budget in Brisbane. Don’t forget to come back in a couple of days as I will be adding updates on what happened during this holiday getaway. Merry Christmas to you all and enjoy!
Why Brisbane?
Like almost everyone, my husband and I work very hard throughout the year and so the Yuletide gives us that perfect chance to go for a bit of a break. Honestly, we have considered a few other places to spend Christmas at other than Brisbane (i.e. Gold coast, Sunshine coast) since we’ve spent last Christmas there. We even came close to booking an accommodation in a nearby beach town (Yeppoon) but they’re all booked out.
As you can tell, we ended up choosing to spend this Christmas in Brisbane again. Brisbane holds a special place in my heart as it was where I spent my first couple of weeks in Australia. I also love the fact that it’s far enough from where we currently live, which makes it feel more like a vacay, but still close enough to drive to. Of course, let’s not forget the great variety of shops and restaurants that they have there.
Christmas in Brisbane last year
Last year, my husband and I spent about 2 weeks in Brisbane during the Christmas holidays. We had so much fun. We did a lot of shopping mainly around the Queen Street Mall and took advantage of the Boxing day sale. We also did a lot of roaming around and eating out. The only issue that we had at the time was that most places were closed which in hindsight, could have been caused by the pandemic. We’ll see if it’s any different this time. But in any case, we clearly had a wonderful time given that we’re doing it again.
What I’m looking forward to Christmas in Brisbane this year
We’ll only be staying in Brisbane for 3 nights, from the 24th to the 27th of December. So not nearly as long as last year’s but we’ll make do. We’re not really an adventurous lot so this Christmas staycation will kind of be just us not working for a couple of days and taking it easy, forgetting our responsibilities, unwinding and roaming around. It will basically be a cycle of eating, wandering, resting, repeat.
I can’t wait to revisit the places that we’ve been to last year such as my favourite restaurants (Steamed and Wara Wara) and the Queen Street Mall. I’m also looking forward to going to shops that I haven’t been to before such as COSTCO and IKEA. I know that this “itinerary” may sound trivial to some as it is too simple but this staycation is really just a way to get a much needed rest.
Preparations Involved
Accommodation
We’ll be staying at an apartment in Bowen Hills (Direct Hotels – Pavilion and Governor on Brookes). It’s a convenient location for us because it’s pretty close to the places we want to go to. It’s a 1 bedroom apartment with everything that you’ll find in a hotel plus a full kitchen. We booked it online around the last week of October through booking.com. We spent $527.55 for a 3 night stay plus $15 per night for a parking space.
How we’ll get there
We’ll be driving the whole way through from Rockhampton to the hotel. It should take us around 8 hours to get there. I will be driving for the first half of the way and my husband will be driving for the latter half as well as around Brisbane. We plan to leave really early at around 4AM or 5AM.
Places to go to and things to do
We have a couple of places that we want to go to and some things that we want to do while in Brisbane for Christmas but we don’t really have a structured itinerary per se. However, based on what we have experienced last year, it was important for us to contact our places of interest to check if they would be open during our stay. None of the places we’d be going to needed reservations so we won’t need to make arrangements for those but if we did, we’d probably do so around the same time we booked the hotel only because it’s during a “peak season”.
Christmas Spread
We booked an apartment with a full kitchen because I want to prepare our Christmas meal. I will, however, do most of the preparations at home so I won’t tire myself out too much when I should be resting. I chose dishes that are simple enough for me to make while I’m away from home. Our Christmas menu this year consists of Triffle, prawns, spring rolls, lechon belly, graham cake, fried chicken and some sides.
Trifle Recipe
Trifle is one of Australia’s Christmas staples. It’s a refreshing dessert that is quite fitting for the weather here during Christmas time. It’s also pretty easy to make and is something that you could prepare well in advance. Check out this mini Trifle recipe that I use:
Ingredients:
- 500g Strawberries and other berries
- 1/4 cup Caster sugar + 2 tbsp
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- 85g raspberry jelly
- Swiss jam roll
- 1/4 cup sweet sherry
- 600ml custard
- 600ml thickened cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Prepare jelly as per packet instruction and add in 3 chopped berries that were sliced into small cubes
- Macerate berries
- Cut cake
- Mix 1/3 cup of thickened cream into custard
- Whip remaining cream and sugar
- Assemble in a wine glass: Cake, Drizzle sweet sherry, jelly, berries, custard, cream
- Repeat layers and top with cream and macerated berries
Conclusion
Don’t forget to come back here in a couple of days for the update. I’ll see you again soon. Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙂
Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.
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