ALL I WANT

With Christmas a hop, skip and a jump away the team have been getting nostalgic and thinking about what they love about Christmas. So we thought we'd chuck on the Carols and share our love of the season with you, and in a not so subtle way let everyone know (Santa, that means you!) what is on our wishlist!

Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Joyeux Noël, Selamat Natale, Nollaig Chridheil,

Vrolijk Kerstfeest,

However you say it. However, you celebrate the end of the year. A million blessings and lots and lots of love from us. Pop on All I want for Christmas and read on with a cookie and a glass of milk .

Heidi

We always open one special pressie on Christmas eve after dinner, but I truly love the feeling of Christmas morning. I am up with the birds and super excited every year to see the look on my boys' faces when they see the pile of pressies under the tree. We start the day with one present then head to the beach for an early morning swim. Afterwards, we head home for coffee, panettone and the rest of the pressies. For me, I love the wrapping and the unwrapping just as much, with special presents from Santa, Mrs Clause and Rudolf always making an appearance. It gets harder as you get older to choose gifts, but this year I am going for beautiful necessities. Let's hope Santa finds me on holidays.

Fiona

As I Mum of 2 boys, Christmas is a very special time in my home. Since they were little we have always had a tradition that we decorate our Christmas tree together on the first weekend of December. Each year my boys take turns at putting the sparkly angel on top of the tree once it is decorated. When they were really little I would go to town the night before Christmas with carrots for the reindeer, cake and a beer for Santa and then a little creative work around the front door leaving snowy footprints and alike, which they would delight in on Christmas morning. My parents also spend Christmas Eve with us every year and are always here to wake up with us on Christmas morning. I hope these traditions last forever and all I ever want for Christmas is to be with my family and laugh and enjoy happy times together. Traditions aside, I have popped these beauties on my wish list.

Xanthe

Christmas is my favourite time of year. I stay the night of Christmas Eve at my parents so that I can wake up early with my brothers to see what Santa has left (yes, he still comes - leaving us a yearly supply of undies and chocolate!). Of course this won't be happening for much longer as we're older now, but that's why Christmas is so special - creating memories that will last forever. Gift-giving and receiving is always hard and as I'm a little older now I realise that it isn't so much about what you receive but more the fun and coming together as a family that makes the time of the year special. But if anyone wants to know, I've put this list together just in case!

Lucy

Like most of the TLSE girls, I absolutely LIVE for Christmas. For me, Christmas = family…and my family is big. We stay in Goulburn on my cousin’s rural property - certainly nothing glamorous, but without waking up surrounded by beautiful, quiet country on Christmas morning with my sister, mum, dad, aunt, uncle and cousins we grew up so close to, it just wouldn’t be Christmas. After sitting in a circle with my sister and cousins to reveal presents from Santa (yep, that’s still a thing for us!), it’s off to my Grandma’s for lunch, with the rest of my many cousins, aunts and uncles, and oh..my..god...the food! Finally, with full tummies, we do our family Kris Kringle. I think you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like receiving gifts, but nothing beats giving something special that I know will be loved. I’m counting the days! Just in case someone wants to know what's on my wishlist...here you go Santa!

Meg

One of my most favourite Christmas traditions is watching ‘White Christmas’ with my mum – it's one of her favourites (and now one of mine too). The night isn’t complete without our bowl of popcorn and a large glass of wine. Christmas day is filled with lots of laughs, music and food! Mum’s side of the family come around to our family home for a seafood feast – I usually stop for a moment and take a look around, you can always find Mum in the kitchen making her famous mojitos, Dad by the CD player putting on all his favourite tunes, my Uncles taking turns making everyone laugh, and my Pop sitting on the lounge doing the same thing as me, just taking a moment to take it all in and really enjoy the time we’re spending together. I’ve got to say, Christmas is definitely my favourite time of the year because it truly tis' the season to be jolly! So here is my jolly ol' list, I hope someone actually see's it and takes note.

Alex

This Christmas for me is really a time to be present and be thankful. To just enjoy time with my family and friends and being back in my home town on the Sunshine Coast. When I am home, there is just a sense of calmness, and whilst I love how busy Sydney is, it is so good to chill, go to the beach, visit Noosa, eat good food and just adventure with friends. Really looking forward to this special time and entering 2020 full of happiness, this wish list will help with that!

Helen

I love the buzz leading up to Christmas. There is an energy and excitement on the streets where I live of people doing end of year catch ups, Christmas parties and the celebration of taking time off. The place is literally pumping, and its one of things I love most about living in the city. In contrast to that on Christmas morning, Surry Hills is finally at peace, everyone has left and the streets are empty. Its so quiet…which is really nice. We usually catch up with my extended family a few days before Christmas which is always fun (if at times stressful). So now our little family enjoys a Christmas Eve dinner with gifts and a movie and then a lovely sleep in on Christmas morning before a day of making food and laying around the pool. No driving, no rushing around, just chilling out and enjoying each others company. So Santa, I have put this list together for you. The rest is up to you.

Diana

First and foremost is our tradition in the lead up to Christmas of early weekend mornings spent on the sofa watching old black & white Christmas movies to wrap presents and get us in the mood. A Cocktail Of The Year is devised and road-tested, along with a playlist and party planning. Getting myself and my family up the hill to our weekender on the Hawkesbury River is a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation of a wonderful day of celebration ahead. My extended family all contribute to a bountiful Christmas lunch around a huge, long table and we frock up; I usually do flowers for the table, foraged from the surrounding bush and we all make it special. What follows is quality time off the grid to reflect and reconnect with my family and myself, in a mix of reading, river swimming, lazy scrabble games with boozy Christmas cake, late-night card playing and lots of laughs. Bliss. So Santa, please find me up the river. Same time, same place as last year!

Savanna

Even though I am Jewish I have been celebrating Christmas every year with our family and friends for the past 15 years. For me, Christmas is about coming together, celebrating life and our friendships. It always amazes me how much joy everyone feels this time of year. Everyone has one thing they love most about Christmas Day - whether it is the present they pick for someone or being proud of the decorations, or the yummy food we are all about to inhale. Mine is the moment where we are all full and happy, and sitting around the tree to open presents. It's exciting to see what everyone comes up with and how well we all know one another. This year I thought I’d make it a little easier and come up with a small list of things just in case anyone wanted to know!

Nikki

Christmas... it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Nothing beats going Christmas light viewing with your friends and family, spoiling the ones you love with some pressies and filling yourself up to the brim with mum’s trifle (one bowl just isn’t enough!). Christmas morning always starts off with my dad playing some Chrissy tunes, sitting around the Christmas tree and exchanging presents, and helping the favourite child, our little puppy, open her gifts too. Each year my immediate family takes turns at hosting a Christmas lunch, so this year we’re heading to my Aunty’s place to celebrate the festivities. I always look forward to this time of the year as it allows my family to reconnect and reflect, yet I also look forward to the debut of my dad’s personalised rendition of Last Christmas by Wham, which is truly iconic, to say the least. After a day filled with lots of laughter, joy, and fun, I eagerly anticipate the Christmas festivities that extend to boxing day, spent with more of my family. Just so the dog doesn't get more gifts than me, here is my list.

It's easy to see once reading these stories from the team that Christmas really isn't about the pressies, although they are nice, Summer Holidays are about the memories we make and the people we love.

So from our family to yours, we wish you Happy Holidays, however, you spend them with lots of good times, food, blessings, love, belly laughs and adventures.

If you feel inclined to send gifts // studio 5.02b / 75 Mary Street, St Peters, 2044 they will be well received 😇

Stories told by the team at TLSE