New Year's Eve Shenanigans

Wednesday 31 December

New Year’s Eve - weather forecast was pish like last year so Luke said we could use their space inside for our celebrations… but how to make it different from 2024/25? I know - an “Op-Swap” party!

We all headed onto town, put the washing into Liquid Laundromat and hit the op shops with a brief to spend up to $15 on an outfit for the opposite gender… Sallies proved a treasure trove and we got most of our fabulous gear from there!

Grabbed a quick bite of lunch in town - sushi for Abby & me, pies for the guys then bought our menu ingredients and headed home to the vineyard to rest up then prep and cook dinner. We decorated the room with bunting and lights, got dinner under way then did the big “Op-Swap” reveal… Abby got a heap of fluro, I got a flowery tent top, leopard print scarf and sweat band, and the boys got identikit outfits of blue shirts, dog tapestry waistcoats and Turkish slippers… the fact they both wore denim shorts made it all the more perfect! Oh, and did I mention wigs?

Had a video chat with the Fernandi in Orewa and Racehorse in Sydney then got down to party business!

Though I say it myself, we had a fab dinner - prawn cocktail, lamb roast with all the trimmings & Eton mess ambrosia; several bottles of bubbly; and hokey pokey chocolate - it was all delicious and we ate far too much!

Watched the midnight countdown on the big screen and celebrated the arrival of 2026 with video chats with both daughters and my sister in London, sparklers and dancing into the wee small hours.

Happy New Year! 🥳🍾🎉🥰