Families opt for Peninsula Hot Springs visit over traditional celebrations
While people across Australia rush around to throw a family feast, Katie and Steve Jaz lounge on a lakeside wooden jetty in their white bathrobes. Their children are playing in their swimsuits and eating chips from the bag. There is a cooler with snacks and drinks nearby. Life is quite happy.
It’s 12.30pm on Christmas Day and the Point Cook couple have arrived at Peninsula Hot Springs in Fingal on the Mornington Peninsula to honor the biannual family tradition; spent the day soaking in hot pools.
“This is our little Jaz family ritual we do here,” says Katie. “We’re going to my side of the family next year.”
Katie’s family celebrates Christmas on December 25th. Steve’s family is Orthodox and celebrates Christmas in January instead.
The Jaz family attends Christmas celebrations hosted by Katie’s family every second on December 25 and goes to spas on off years.
“I have brothers and sisters, and Steve has brothers, so we have to balance it out,” Katie says. “We can’t all get together on the same day.”
The spa idea was born about five years ago as a way to surprise children on Christmas morning with an activity rather than a gift.
“The kids can keep busy on their own while the husband and wife chat and chat,” Steve says. “It ticks a lot of the logistical boxes you’re trying to hit when having a relaxing getaway with your family.” Being able to bring snacks from home is also a plus.
The Jaz family is not alone.
Peninsula Hot Springs spokeswoman Jacqui Diamond said more than 1,000 people are expected to spend the day at the resort.
“Many people come here as an alternative to the chaos, but also as an opportunity to connect with each other or with friends and family and celebrate being at one with nature,” says Diamond.
A line of about two dozen people filed out the front door. Age He arrived around 11 am.
Swimmers were not deterred by frigid temperatures or sudden bursts of wind and rain on Thursday. Some read books by the pool, while others took a dip in the cold water or sat in 30-degree water.
Dijana and Oliver Stankovic were among those relaxing by the pool.
The couple from Caroline Springs is no stranger to spas. They make the approximately four-hour return trip about once a month to relax with friends.
Like the Jaz family, the Stankovics celebrate Orthodox Christmas in January, so they’ve made going to the spas on December 25 an annual tradition for the past seven years.
“December is a very stressful month for all of us,” Dijana said. “We have a daughter, we both work full time, and we also have nieces and nephews that we look after on the weekends.”
One last day of rest before the celebrations with the family begin.
“We will stay here until 6 in the evening, then we will go home and sleep like babies,” Dijana said.
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