14th Annual Christmas Day BYO Picnic Lunch in Melbourne 2019

***Everyone welcome - including newcomers, expatriates, repatriates, migrants and international students to Melbourne, Christmas Day orphans, people who are single, married, couples, families, students, tourists, migrants, local residents, Australian citizens, children, adults, young or old, any faith or religion - if you are looking for an alternative option for Christmas Day please join us - this event will go ahead - rain hail or shine. Free to attend, bring your own food and wear your own name tag.***

Christmas Day can be a lonely occasion if you are a long way away from family and friends.

It is also difficult if the traditional rituals cannot be recreated - as far as I know, there has never been snow in Melbourne on Christmas Day!

Even if you do not normally celebrate this religious occasion, it is still nice to have 'something to do' on Christmas Day as plenty of people at work will ask you 'what are you doing for Christmas?'

History

In 2006, Newcomers Network hosted an event in Catani Gardens, St Kilda (Victoria) and in 2007, we moved to the Queen Victoria Gardens next to St Kilda Road and opposite the Victorian Arts Centre. In 2011, we started co-hosting the event with Ian Wood from the Fun, Food and Friendship Melbourne Social Club.

In 2019, Sue Ellson will be hosting the 14th Christmas Day BYO Picnic Lunch in Melbourne.

We usually have between 50 - 150 people attending - bringing bikes, footballs, cricket bat and balls, frisbees, dogs, friends or coming on their own.

What to Bring

• a name tag with your first name on it
(a simple sticker or piece of paper and safety pin or string will do)
• hat, sunglasses, sunscreen (maybe even a Santa hat or something red and Christmassy)
• whatever you would like to eat, drink and share (including water)
• picnic mat and/or chair (if you have one)

Public Transport

Public transport is free in Melbourne and will be running to the Sunday timetable. The nearest train station is Flinders Street. You can catch the tram one stop along and then just cross the road to the park. We will be under a big tree next to three palm trees and you will see the Newcomers Network banner hanging from the tree. There is a public toilet close by on the corner of St Kilda Road and Linlithgow Avenue (stainless steel building).

Finding the Group
We can never be 100% certain as to how many people will turn up on the day, but as this is our 14th year hosting the picnic, we are expecting quite a lot of people (and a few regulars from past years).

Please do not be daunted – everyone sits in small groups and if you arrive on your own, I will happily introduce you to others (I wear a silver sparkly Santa hat) and can provide a sticky label name tag if you forget to bring your own. Everyone always has a bit of extra food, so you can always enjoy a little something unique.

If you could take a couple of photos and post them on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/newcomersnetworkmelbourneaustralia/, that would be fantastic!

Also Listed Online

Sue Ellson (the organiser) will be attending this Meetup and the event is also being promoted on the following websites

• Newcomers Network
• Meetup
• Facebook
• Only Melbourne
• Gumtree

Christmas Day Picnic Lunch Videos

- fun spy version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf4faEZEn4Y

- longer descriptive version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbOHENost6w

- video from 2018 picnic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD3RaFKQEcs

More Information

Visit https://newcomersnetwork.com
Email melbourne@newcomersnetwork.com
Telephone Sue Ellson + 61 402 243 271

Venue
Queen Victoria Gardens
Under the big tree next to three palm trees,
opposite the Queen Victoria Arts Centre
(building with a spire) on St Kilda Road,
Latitude -37.821314 Longitude 144.969850
Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

We look forward to seeing you there!

Register Online

To receive an email confirmation and reminder notification with directions, please register at https://christmasdaybyopicniclunchmelbourne.eventbrite.com.au