Rod and Janene Griffith are looking forward to their first Christmas as homeowners at Amber by Living Gems over-50s lifestyle resort where they have already signed up to attend the resort’s Christmas party.

“Being in the resort for Christmas is going to be wonderful,” said the couple who only moved in a few months ago after downsizing from their Esk property which they called home for about seven years.

One of their reasons for moving to Amber was to be closer to their three children and seven grandchildren who are all now within half an hour’s drive of them at Willowvale, Loganholme and Greenbank.

“This will be the first time in a few years that we will all be able to come together as a family on Christmas Day and not only that but we also have a couple of kids’ birthdays and graduations to go to in December.

Being so close means we can do it easily, without a long drive from Esk,” said Rod.

Christmas has always been about family to Janene and Rod who married at the young ages of 18 and 20 almost 50 years ago.

“We’ve just carried on the tradition from our parents. As youngsters it was all about family and food, and it’s been the same all the way through our married life,” said Janene, who never fails to deliver fabulous festive cuisine including Christmas pudding, cake, salads and her popular rum balls which are made from a recipe handed down by her mother.

Her pièce de résistance is her decadent and delicious layered ice cream cake which is a newer addition to her culinary repertoire.

“I’ve found the children often prefer my ice cream cake to the traditional plum pudding. It has proved really popular, and we can’t have Christmas without it now,” said Janene.

Meanwhile, there are also treats hanging on the Christmas tree including her very popular candy canes and ginger breads which the children love.

“We created a tradition of making ginger breads featuring the names of all eight adults and seven children. Using icing, Janene paints board shorts on the men and bikinis on the girls for an Australiana theme and then puts them in cellophane and hangs them on the tree. It’s the first thing everyone looks for when they arrive for Christmas,” said Rod.

Rod can be relied upon to deliver fresh crabs for the Christmas table. He catches his own and is often joined by his grandkids who he is teaching to follow in his footsteps.

The couple is also looking forward to the festive atmosphere at Amber by Living Gems where they say the Christmas spirit is alive and well.

“It will be nice to walk out our front door and be able to wish all our new neighbours a happy Christmas.

Residents held a street party for the new Stage Two homeowners recently which was great and gave us an opportunity to get to know each other. We are also looking forward to joining more than 60 residents at the resort’s Christmas party,” said the fun-loving pair.