› Christmas traditions are good for you

Making Nana’s traditional sherry trifle and Christmas breakfast. The kids (who are now 21 and 16) wake up on Christmas morning and the table is all set with crackers and decorations. We always have scrambled eggs, salmon and croissants with Bucks Fizz (sparkling wine and orange juice) to drink. Presents are then opened and our family from the U.K do a video call. We have been in New Zealand for 15 years and never missed doing any of the above. Pigs in a blanket and a port, light a candle to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Some yummy Greek together with some Westernised food, best of both worlds and hope to enjoy nice beach weather to go to local beach for a swim or body board. Making gingerbread. Being a Filipino, I still have that tradition of putting up my Christmas tree as early as September. This actually makes my (Kiwi) partner and stepsons excited each Christmas. Everyone is around that tree on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and we leave it up after New Year. On Christmas Eve, my family and my sister’s family go to church to hear Christmas carols then the evening mass thereafter. We then spend the night either at our place or my sister’s. We then have a big Noche Buena (Christmas Eve dinner) and Kris Kringle. Lots of fun stuff we do on Christmas Eve and it’s always special. On Christmas Eve when I was a kid, my siblings and I would always sleep in the lounge by the tree. We still did it when we were old enough to realise who was really filling up the Santa sacks! My nieces and nephews do it now too.