About 29 people showed up at Pohutukawa Glade on the southern end of Karekare Beach for the club’s end of year BBQ, which was pot luck with guests bringing their own meat plus salads and drinks to share. A slight touch of rain came as we were finishing and were about to pack up and go up to David and Jill’s beach house on Lone Kauri Rd for our dessert and Christmas celebration. We enjoyed a yummy shared dessert in the lounge or out on the deck overlooking the beach and Tasman Sea. Afterwards we all came back into the lounge where Cathie began our Christmassing by reading a story The Three Trees about the dreams of three trees, wanting to be a treasure chest, a strong sailing ship, and the tallest tree in the world. They ended up instead being the manger for the newborn baby, the ship where Jesus calmed the storm at sea, and the cross of Christ. The moral is - when you feel down because you don’t get what you want, sit tight and be happy because God has something better for you. Breaking up into two groups, one going upstairs and the other remaining in the lounge, we played a secret santa game. We had each been asked to bring a pressie of $10 value, and they were handed out to the group. These were passed on and swapped to throws of a dice, and each one of us ended up taking home a pressie. The pressies included reusable straws, a first aid it, two whistle compasses, a fold-up picnic mat, and a framed Christmas collage. The person who won the collage thought it was just a frame with a generic background, but when they had a close look at it they recognised a couple photos of tramping trips with familiar faces. Barbara finished the evening with one of her favourite Christmas Bible passages, written by Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born, in which He will have the government on his shoulders, and be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Christmas means that we have this Christ child with all these attributes. The story of the three trees signified important things in the life of Jesus. Barbara thanked everyone for their participation in the club this year, from leaders to trampers and the teamwork.