The magic of Christmas arrives six months early as temperatures hit their lowest temperatures across Australia! So where is the best place to visit for Christmas in July?
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Christmas in July is a fun and popular pastime in Australia. Our real Christmas is a hotter, less traditional holiday, swapping out silly sweaters for shorts and sunscreen, and swapping out full roasts and sides for salads and seafood.
So we made up for that with two Christmases and the effort some people put into July was really impressive.
But where to spend the best mid-year Christmas?
Christmas in July in Orange, NSW
Obviously, for a proper Christmas experience, you want to be somewhere cold, but on the other hand, you don’t want it to be too cold.
that’s why Orange, New South Wales is a good choice.
Due to its high altitude and distance from the sea (Orange is about 860m above sea level and about 4 hours drive from Sydney), it will snow in Orange in July, but not too much. Perfect!
Christmas at the Oriana Motel Peacock Room Restaurant
we are in orange Orianna’s Christmas in July. This cool retro motel is owned by the brilliant Espen Harbitz. Originally from Norway, he experienced all his childhood Christmas experiences this July at one of the best restaurants in Orange.
You can read our full review of the Oriana Motel here.
First, we gathered in the garden, surrounded by a crackling fire pit set up by the staff, and enjoyed a glass of Norwegian wine. It’s a bit like mulled wine, but less sweet and rich in brandy.
We sat by the fire and chatted with the other partygoers for a while until we were called to dinner.
Inside, we head towards Peacock Roomthe restaurant has been renovated. The tables were covered with Christmas decorations, and a huge tree hung in the center of the room, drooping under the weight of lights, tinsel and tasteful baubles.
Everyone got a fun Santa hat and a cookie to pull, and the atmosphere was joyful and happy – and not just because there were tons of glogg!
Oriana Christmas Dinner
As is Espen fashion, wine was the priority as we sat down, followed by plenty of chewy bread and butter to keep us company.
Dinner was served quickly and efficiently and it was a lovely meal. A feast of succulent turkey, rich roast duck, crispy suckling pig, hearty stuffing, creamy puree, fresh sprouts and red cabbage.
Not to mention you’ll have the richest, thickest, most flavorful gravy.
I miss all the things about a cold Christmas.
After the main course, we wondered what would happen next. The answer is: Christmas pudding. Christmas pudding, of course. Rich, rich, dark flavor accompanied by ramekins of warm custard, whipped cream, rum and raisin ice cream.
But the final boom is yet to come.
Soon, Espen was standing next to us with a jug of rum and a lighter. He poured rum over the pudding and set it on fire. Everyone loves food theater – especially when it tastes so delicious!
We will leave feeling full and satisfied, just like Christmas should be.
Double up on the Norwegian winter atmosphere
If you want to actually use the full Scando, Espen has installed a suitable Nordic style sauna Next to the Oriana pool.
The sauna is available to motel guests at any time of the year, but in the depths of winter you can work up a sweat (we crank up the sauna temperature to over 60°C) before jumping into the unheated horror pool for an icy dip.
We didn’t think it was necessary to do that last bit since the temperatures were around freezing anyway.
And Espen is already pouring wine!
Orianna’s July Christmas Feast takes place every Friday and Saturday evening throughout July, but Book a table quickly Because the book was published very quickly.
