Here's how we'll be spending Christmas Day...
Amy O'Connor of Cork celebrates. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
I’ll be spending Christmas in Koh Samui, Thailand’s second-largest island, this year.
My husband Tim and I plan to spend three nights in Koh Phangan, and on Christmas Eve, we’ll head to Koh Samui to meet our friends and stay until the 29th. There is a group of around 20 of us heading to the island from Bangkok. It’s mostly fellow ex-pats who are away from home for Christmas - so we will celebrate together. Then it’s back to Bangkok, where we’re currently based, for New Year’s.
We’ll probably cook a roast of some kind on the day and enjoy the weather on the island.
I spent last Christmas in my mum’s house in Cork, and I’ll definitely be missing my family – just not the weather or the dark evenings! All my siblings are scattered all over the place – Dublin, Nottingham, London, and I could be anywhere, so what we love about
This is the second year since we lost my stepdad, which makes it that bit harder being away from everyone else, so I’ll definitely be taking a moment during the day to remember him, and my dad who we also lost last year.
I would definitely describe myself as a Christmas person, and luckily, so is Tim. When you’re away from home, you tend to pull out all the stops to make it as memorable as possible - our Christmas tree has been up since November! Having said that, I love my job, and l love my life, so I wouldn’t trade where I am for anything!
I’m already planning for next year and have just bought a guide to French Polynesia, which I want to explore in 2024. I’ve always wanted to visit Bora Bora and Tahiti! Work-wise, I’m running group trips to India, Thailand, Japan, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia - 2024 will be a busy year! So far, I’ve been to 44 countries, and by this time next year, I would love to make that 50!
MY Christmases are very quiet, very low key, and that's how I like them. The rest of the year is the total opposite!
I have to be organised before Christmas Eve because that's when I prep for Christmas dinner. I usually have the house to myself for a few hours, the ham and beef go on, candles lit, cleaning gets done, Christmas music on while I'm working away. I put the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve and I might call to relatives with my mum to deliver presents.
My brother and his kids will arrive with my mum and my niece, the house fills up and I finish the cooking and we usually eat around 2 or 2.30pm.
We are definitely a turkey and ham household but have beef as well. Usually, we have seven people for dinner but have often had 13! There always has to be pavlova for dessert which I'll make on Christmas morning, and there will be trifle. My late mother-in-law used to make Christmas pudding and that's missed by my husband and my mum. My favourite part of Christmas dinner is my stuffing, and my favourite moment is when I sit at the table when everyone is served, that's the end of my workload!
I love St Stephen's Day, because everything is ready from the day before, dinner can be anytime. Usually it's just us four, my husband, son, daughter and I and I usually do absolutely nothing, apart from walk my dogs. I used to be up like a lark for the Brown Thomas sale - that may or may not happen!
Unfortunately, we don't have Santa as the kids are grown up now, but we still have surprises under the tree and that excitement is still there. I would have been listening to the kids’ passing comments about what they like and try to get those things. My daughter wants to know what she's getting, and my son doesn't! But I don't tell either of them. So, in a way I like to think Santa still comes.
There are lots of traditions from my childhood carried on in my own family - visit to the cemetery, Perry Como on vinyl playing, my Dad's old decorations are always on my tree, although they are around since I was tiny, everyone goes downstairs at the same time, we have to have corned beef as well as spiced beef to please everyone.
I love everything about Christmas, having my people and my dogs around me, taking time out, not having to be anywhere in particular for a few days, the food, the gifting, Christmas tv.
And I do it all again on New Year's Eve because we don't go out. I prefer home any night of the year!
CHRISTMAS has always been eagerly anticipated in our house and even as the four kids have grown older, that sense of anticipation has never left. With two new pups added to the house recently, the kids (now teens) are actually busily planning the dogs first Christmas so it's all go here!
It's then cut and delivered by the 8th. So up it goes then. I'm a bit of a sentimentalist though so there's no carefully curated theme. We decorate it with a mismatch of baubles and stuff the kids have made over the years and this year the challenge is to keep the dogs away from it!
We usually go full blast with the lights outside too – Joan from Enchanting Events Specialist does them for us. Christmas is one of my favourite times of year so I love how welcoming the place looks when they're all turned on. When I was little up at home in West Clare, my mother would have candles lighting in every window, as would all if the houses in the parish - you don't see it as much here but I like to put one up in a little round front window we have here as a nod to home.
This year we’ll try to head to Midleton to support the local businesses there after their devastating floods.
On Christmas Eve, I get up really early and again, a throwback to home, I'll cook the Christmas ham, a huge one. I absolutely adore the smell as it's cooking and anyone who calls in will usually be treated to a Bailey’s coffee and some of my Aunty Jane's biscuit cake!
One of my girls is in her school choir and they sing at Mass so we'll head off there later on. I always think of Christmas Eve mass as one of the most evocative times in Church – there's such memory bound up in the hymns and readings, it always makes me feel very nostalgic We head home afterwards to our Christmas eve feast, again a throwback to what my own parents used to (and still do!) A total smorgasbord of our favourite breads, ham, potato salad, coleslaws, curried rice, noodles, and anything goes. Mam used always have a black forest gateau when we were kids in the 80s which we thought it was fierce exotic altogether! My gang won't eat it so we usually finish off with mince pies or chocolates.
Before we go to bed, carrots and oats are left out for Rudolph and the gang, milk, wine and biscuits cake is left out for Santy and a pen and paper in case he wants to write say hello.
The second wave of presents is on Christmas morning after Santy has come. Firm believers here regardless of age and now he's the two pups to spoil too.
Christmas Day is usually pretty relaxed, (I say usually - when my in-laws first came over for Christmas dinner almost 18 years ago. I ended up crying in the utility room as I was so stressed!). Lesson learned, so these days we kind of graze through a few starters, go for a few brisk laps around the Lough and come back in time to serve up a traditional turkey/ ham dinner and the more variety of potatoes the better!
Usually then we head over to the in-laws about 4 or 5pm where we 'll bring dessert (pavlova), and we'll just veg quite happily on the couch, sleepily watching films chatting, playing games till night time.
Up at home in Clare, sometimes a wren group would call or you'd have a few on St Stephens Day but that doesn't happen so much here and you'd miss that. A few years back we were up at home, and m mum, myself and the kids dressed up for The Wren and went out on St Stephens Day ...so much fun!
I’LL be spending Christmas Eve with my dad and his girlfriend. My dad’s a care assistant in a nursing home so he’ll be working Christmas Day so the staff with younger kids can have it off. We like to try make sure we still get a day together over Christmas and I’m looking forward to a good cheese board and board games!
We’ll spend the morning together taking a walk if it’s fine but this is where tradition falters as we won’t have a typical Christmas dinner together this year – as well as being an art student my mum is a qualified chef so it’s usually the ultimate feast but with my sister Lauren being away in Australia we’ve decided to change up our normal routine as it simply wouldn’t be the same without her.
I’m really looking forward to this as his family still has some Santa fans! As I’m the youngest in my family I haven’t had that magic in years and I’m excited to spend the day with Jamie’s family and experience their family traditions.
I’m a big fan of St Stephan’s day, taking a nice walk and then cosying up for movies and Christmas treats – my mince pie obsession has already taken hold! Jamie and I will spend the evening packing as we’re heading off to Edinburgh on the 27th for a few days as his birthday present to me.
I’LL be at home in Churchfield/Knocknaheeny for Christmas as always. My younger brother moved to Australia this year so it’ll be the first time there’ll only be three of us at home - my mam, dad and me which will be a little different.
Christmas is always very relaxing in our house. We're not back training with Cork until January with Cork. I work as a Project Manager for Workvivo and I’m actually off for the entire holiday and I’m looking forward to that down time.
We are very much a traditional turkey and ham household. My mam has introduced sausage meat alright over the last few years which has being going down well.
There’s always Christmas crackers too – I always get a kick out of the jokes and stupid they are!
We’re not really a starter house, but we’ll have meringues, profiteroles and chocolate fudge cake for desert. My boyfriend Danny will call for dessert. He always has his dinner in his own house!
We usually relax for the rest of the day.I love the Santa Claus movies. I might try watch all of the Harry Potters – although I say that every year and never manage to do it!
App?
