LIFESTYLE

KIND CRACKERS

Refill store Hopper is hoping to keep Christmas crackers out of the 50,000 tonnes of extra waste that gets sent to New Zealand’s landfills over the festive period, with their clever recyclable version. Inside are hand-crafted gifts made from upcycled or natural materials, an adjustable crown, which is assembled using the cracker itself, and of course a couple of jokes to tell at the dinner table. This year Hopper is giving 30% of cracker proceeds to Forest and Bird.

BEACHY WARES

Pearl Delaney-Girdlestone and Cruze McFarlane have set up lifestyle store Hendrix at Waikanae Beach, in time for the summer. The Kāpiti Coast locals were inspired by their years travelling and living abroad to source homeware items that make a house feel like a holiday home. Launching the store, which sells New Zealand and international brands, has been a long-term dream of the pair who live locally with their son Atlas and Boston terrier Rocket. FOOTLOOSE, FARE FREE

In the spirit of the season Metlink has waived fares on their trains and buses on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve for all passengers in the Wellington region. General manager Samantha Gain says, “Helping to bring friends and whānau together for free at Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a way of supporting the community hard hit by cost-of-living increases during a difficult year.” TREADING WATER

White Ferns cricket player Amelia Kerr has created an online video series featuring seven people who have struggled with mental health issues. Treading Water will be released weekly over the coming months, with stories from Amelia’s friends and family, sports personalities, and Amelia herself, who has been open about struggles with her own mental health. They discuss grief, depression, and ways parents can help their children.

NO GYM PASS REQUIRED

California’s Muscle Beach ethos has arrived in the capital. The upgraded Pirie Street play area now features a calisthenics park, suitable for adults to use for a workout. Calisthenics is a form of exercise that involves little equipment and uses one’s own bodyweight. The park’s equipment includes a set of monkey bars, parallel bars, and soft surfacing underneath to cushion falls. MOVIE FANS REJOICE

Popcorn at the ready, Event Cinemas is set to reopen in Lower Hutt’s, Queensgate shopping mall this December. The cinema closed in 2016 after the Kaikōura earthquake meant it had to be demolished. The new and better cinema will be largest in the region, with seven screens, state-of-the-art IMAX 4K projection, comfy seating and an arcade area. SUS-PLANE-ABLE

Wellington Airport has been rated third best in the world for sustainability. In an independent assessment by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, airports were judged on their management of environmental, social, and governance efforts. In recent years Wellington Airport has replaced a third of its fuelled vehicles with electric alternatives, improved the energy efficiency of its buildings, and recycled 100% of the asphalt removed during their 2021 runway resurfacing (almost 18,000 tonnes).

new high health tomato range available now

recommended by the heritage food crops research trust 5 varieties to choose from with health enhancing properties!

Deer-licious traditions

BY FRANCESCA EMMS

We met the first three of Santa’s reindeer last Christmas. This year we asked about the next three in the lineup. Francesca Emms found a Vixen, a Comet, and a Cupid, and asked them what ingredient really makes Christmas feel like Christmas.

Vixen

Kate Hardwick, pictured here with her colleague and right-hand woman Daniella Smith, is the owner/chef at Vixen Burger. Kate opened the popular burger joint two years ago in the “lovely wee town” of Featherston. “I wanted to get out of Wellington and accidentally found the perfect wee shop to lease,” she says. “It’s called Vixen because we’re in Fox Street and I’m a chick. And the word ‘Vixen’ is very satisfying.”

Kate’s favourite Christmas traditions all revolve around food. “From croissants, panettone and Champagne for Christmas breakfast, to scarfing leftover trifle on Boxing Day straight from the fridge.” She loves new potatoes and peas in their shells, her Auntie’s cheese ball with Snax crackers, and “those faux-crystal compartmentalised trays with dried fruits and dodgy nougat. Don’t know if they still exist.”

A standout memory from her childhood is the bowls of whole nuts with nutcrackers that were always part of her grandmother’s festive table: “They just seemed to taste better that way.” She remarks that it has got harder to find nuts in shells – “Haven’t seen Brazil nuts in years. It was mostly the ritual and drama of pinging the nutshells. My very favourite are fresh hazelnuts, which are one of the defining tastes of Christmas for me.”

Comet

Alex Kinzett always had an interest in the night sky, which turned into a lifelong passion once he started working at Space Place, the planetarium and observatory in Wellington Botanic Garden. As site supervisor Alex manages the day-to-day operations. “My favourite part of my job is to take visitors on a journey through space and time to the edge of our universe from the comfort of our planetarium.”

He’s well placed to give us the lowdown on comets. “Comets can be a mix of frozen water, gas, dust, and rock. Comets greatly differ in their orbital period around the Sun, from 3.3 years to potentially millions of years. The coolest thing about them (other than being frozen!) is that the debris from comets is what causes meteor showers or shooting stars here on Earth!” When Alex was growing up, his mum would make mini pavlovas for the family to decorate with their own choice of toppings for Christmas breakfast-dessert. She maintains the tradition, and Alex’s favourite topping is lemon curd. “Making scrumptious lemon curd and dolloping huge mounds onto pavlova with mascarpone and grated chocolate for Christmas brunch; the sweet-sour twang instantly transports me back in time.”

This year (besides the lemon curd) Alex is looking forward to spending Christmas with his whānau and celebrating his daughter's first Christmas.

Cupid

A red, heartshaped fruit is the hero ingredient on Christmas day for modern-day Cupid Sasha Madarasz. The professional matchmaker says strawberries often play a big part at Christmas. “On a pav, in a bowl on their own, or sometimes dropped in a glass of bubbles.”

Sasha opened her dating agency Two’s Company in 2003. “I researched what people liked about what was out there at the time, and what they didn’t like, and came up with a one-on-one introduction agency. I meet with all clients, find out about their lives and what they are looking for out of the future and out of a partner, and then let them know if I think I have the right people to introduce them to.” It’s a job she loves. “I meet with awesome, positive, happy, driven, and motivated people every day. Then I make their lives even better. What’s not to love?”

Every year Sasha’s Christmas starts with the Hungarian side of her family meeting on Christmas Eve for a traditional meal of paprika chicken. This dish is slow cooked with lots of capsicum, tomatoes, chilli, and paprika, and served with cucumber salad, pickles, and chilli. “My Oma and Opa escaped Hungary when my father was six and arrived in Wellington as refugees, so this meal is a link to their heritage that they brought with them.”