JOY TO THE WORLD
SUNRISE’S NAT AND KOCHIE GET INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Christmas is a time to come together and enjoy a laugh, good food and plenty of singing. And you know it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas when Sunrise presenters David Koch and Natalie Barr take to the stage to host Channel Seven’s Woolworths Carols in the Domain.
For Kochie, the atmosphere of the event is so infectious he admits that he can’t help but burst into song backstage – even though his fellow Sunrise co-hosts aren’t usually fans.
“Mark Vincent always sings ‘Jerusalem’,” he tells New Idea. “And that’s where I always sing the loudest and Nat and Sam [Armytage] always tell me to be quiet! [Laughs]
“I love singing but I’m just not very good at it. But that doesn’t stop me.”
Here Kochie and Nat dish on what they love about Carols and Christmas Day.
What do you think makes Christmas so magical?
NAT: Because it takes us all back to when we were little and for a moment we re-live that pure excitement that nothing else matters except our family and the ones we love around us. Then to top it off, if we’re very lucky, Santa manages the impossible and makes it to our house. Just incredible.
KOCHIE: In this era of everyone being so busy and bombarded by commitments, it’s a time that makes you stop and think about the really important things in your life and that’s relationships, friendships and family. When it’s all said and done, they are the most important things and I think Christmas should be a reminder to all of us about that.
What’s your favourite Woolworths Carols in the Domain memory? KOCHIE:
Every year is a wonderful year for me because part of the condition of me doing it is that my entire family can come along. The family has grown significantly since
I started doing it but they kindly allow me to bring everyone along, and the grandkids are so excited about seeing poppy up there hosting it.
NAT: The Ten Tenors – the sheer power in those incredible voices stretching out across the Domain. The opera singers each year have that same impact – making you realise how gifted they are
and how special a powerful voice can be to create a beautiful mood.
What are you hoping to find under the Christmas tree this year?
KOCHIE: Each year my eldest daughter gives me a calendar that she has made for the next year featuring photos of all the significant family events that we have had during the current year. I think that’s one of the presents I really look forward to every year.
NAT: I don’t really put in any orders, but I have put in for five weeks off work! So, a lot of sleep-ins are actually on my list!
Are you a prepared Christmas shopper or a last-minute Christmas shopper?
NAT: A bit of both. I’ve done a few [presents] and have a few to go. Our kids are teenagers so they really only get one present now. And it’s usually something they make very clear they want early on!
KOCHIE: Every Christmas, I give the entire family matching pyjamas. So, I bought this year’s ones a few weeks ago. I’m pretty prepared – we are Christmas nuts. Each year we can’t wait for it and the whole family are just as daggy as I am.
One thing you are grateful for this Christmas?
NAT: Our eldest son just turned 18. It was a huge milestone in our family. We really will sit back this Christmas and look back at where we’ve come. You can’t help but feel grateful and a little bit lucky that you kind of achieved this as a family really. It feels big. He’s an adult now and we all did it together in a way. And he can have a drink with us to celebrate!
KOCHIE: I think it’s to have the entire family together, which we haven’t done in five years. This year our youngest daughter and her German boyfriend are coming out for Christmas so we will have in total 15 people staying in our house. It’s a madhouse but we wouldn’t want it any other way. I think that’s the thing I’m grateful for, to have everyone together.