*At Hot Octopuss we believe in living life on your own terms – and that includes the holidays! Winter holidays can bring up all kinds of feelings, so we are extending a heartfelt wish that you’re able to celebrate in a way that genuinely brings you happiness. Here’s a look at the different ways our team members spend their holidays. From our homes to yours, we wish you a most festive season.*
### Julia – I once told my kids that Santa works on faith: the moment they stop believing he is real, he will never visit them again.
As a result, all my kids, even my 12-year-old, absolutely swear they believe…so Christmas in my house begins with a very early wakeup from three over-excited kids tumbling down the stairs to rip open their presents and inspect the obligatory dusting of ‘snow’ left all over the floor.
This year I will be having Christmas at my house for the first time. We usually have a huge extended family meal at one of our parents’ houses, eight households in total. With Covid making that impossible, we are doing separate meals this year and meeting instead of for a morning walk with all the kids and a late afternoon tea in my Mum’s garden with our beloved 94-year-old Grandma.
### Molly – My favourite thing about Christmas is my Christmas tree.
I buy a real tree every year and decorate it with all white, silver, glass ornaments and lights. It sits in my front room and sparkles throughout Christmas. I love sitting in the room with all the other lights off in the evening and maybe eating a mince pie (or two.)
### Sophie – My favourite part about Christmakkah!
I’m one of the lucky ones who get to celebrate both Chanukah & Christmas . . . my kids are obviously very happy with this arrangement due to the multitude of presents. Chanukah is special because every night we light the chanukiah candles, sing a song, have a chocolate coin and my little monkeys get a gift (yes one every night! That’s 8!!) whilst eating a doughnut.
But its Christmas that gets the full shebang experience in our house. On Christmas eve we leave Santa and Rudolf their carrot, mince pie and milk (the dog gets the carrot, hubby the mince pie and me the milk lol) and then once the little ones are asleep, I fill the hessian sacks with ‘Santa’s’ gifts and put fake snow all over my house with footprints just for extra effect. The kids’ faces when they can see ‘proof’ Santa has actually been there is priceless.
### Alex – Ba Humbug!
### Jam – My bio family stopped buying Christmas presents when I was a teenager, and it was the biggest relief!
In recent years it’s been rare that I see my family. This year I’ll spend the holidays with my partner and our dogs. I like staying up late on Christmas, drinking mulled wine and doing card readings for the year ahead.
### Grae – Christmas for my family is either a proper traditional Xmas with my Dad and Step mum or a relaxing day at home.
If we go to my dad’s we eat 2 billion courses and have several Xmas trees, games and decorations as far as the eye can see. When we do Xmas at home, it’s just the immediate family. We stay in pyjamas and eat cheese, drink prosecco and lounge! Both excellent ways to celebrate Xmas.
### Ringo – Normally without Corona, we are happy to be at home as we travel so much.
Christmas day we do a big breakfast and lunch to celebrate the fact we are together in good health and enjoy each other’s company.
We always play games like Monopoly or cards and sit down and complain that the year again passed by like it was only 6 months. Traditional food is always rabbit (yes we do eat meat) and my mom cooks like 5 dishes – always way too much! The atmosphere is 100% laughs and enjoying the fact that we are celebrating it with all of us still alive.
At my mom’s house, we play a game where we all put in one gift and that gift keeps changing owner during the game. Sometimes you win the gift, sometimes you lose it. It’s always a fun game to play, a very precious thing for all of us.
*Whether you enjoy some alone time, plan a sexy night with your sweetheart, or have a day of Zoom calls with loved ones, we hope the holiday season gives you exactly what you need. From your friends at Hot Octopuss, here’s wishing a hearty goodbye to 2020, and onward and upward with 2021!*
