STARS GET INTO SPIRIT

There’s plenty of shows to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, writes Siobhan Duck

IT wouldn’t be Christmas without Mariah Carey’s super-catchy hit All I Want For Christmas Is You playing on every radio station and in every store. And to really cement Carey’s status as the yuletide muse, she has released a new Christmas tune and a TV special, featuring an interview with the singer and her 10-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe. In addition to performing her nowclassic 1994 smash, the pop icon (right) – and one-time fiancée of James Packer – also joins forces with Khalid and Kirk Franklin for a performance of their new single Fall In Love At Christmas.

While Carey’s voice will be front and centre this festive season, don’t expect to hear breakfast television presenters David Koch and Natalie Barr crooning along with the annual Carols In The Domain concert.

“We’ve discovered they turn the microphones off when we start singing,” says Barr, who is co-hosting the event with Koch.

“We discovered that in about the third year. I think it’s deliberate because we couldn’t be worse. So, it’s probably best for everybody that they do.”

The hosts are itching to get back on stage after they were forced to present last year’s show from a studio due to the pandemic, Koch says.

“We’re lucky Nat and I, because we’re at the front looking out and we get to see the faces of everyone there,” he says. “We get to see the faces of the kids when The Wiggles come out and Santa, too, and they’re all dancing and happy. We get to see them fall asleep in their parents’ arms. And then we get to see the shock on their faces when the fireworks wake them up at the end.”

Carols In The Domain will provide extra reason to celebrate as both Barr’s and Koch’s families – who they have been separated from for lengthy periods due to border closures – will be in the audience. Barr’s son is returning to Sydney from studying in Melbourne, while Koch will have two new grandchildren in the throng watching. While not all of their family may be able to get together this Christmas due to lingering border closures,

Koch and Barr are still looking forward to the big day.

“If you were to ask Nat and I what our Christmas wish is, it would be that [WA Premier] Mark McGowan open up the borders so [the rest of] our families can join us,” Koch says.

Spending time with family is also at the top of the list for TV presenters Allison Langdon and David Campbell, who are hosting Vision Australia’s Carols By Candlelight this year. “I love Christmas. It’s such a special time of the year, especially when you have small kids,” says Langdon, who has two children – Mack, 4, and Scout, 2 – with her husband, journalist Michael Willesee Jr.

Campbell, who is a father of three, adds: “I’m honoured to once again be a part of the Carols tradition. It’s a wonderful night for a great cause.”

Singer Delta Goodrem, who hosted a recent Christmas event at the Sydney Opera House, agrees. “Everyone has gone through so much this year, so bringing a lot of love and light at Christmas time is very important to me,” she says. “Over the past few years during the pandemic, I have shared about how much I love Christmas, and that inspired the writing of my song Only

Santa Knows. If I were to share with you what my Christmases were like growing up, it would be through the lyrics of that song. And that I truly believed in the magic of Christmas... and still do.”

Carols In The DomaIn

7.30pm, December 23, Seven

Carols By CanDlelIghT

8pm, chriStmaS eve, nine

ChrIsTmas WITh DelTa

Streaming, 9now

marIah’s ChrIsTmas: The magIC ConTInues

Streaming, apple tv+