NOT WITH THE FAMILY THIS YEAR!

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez won’t be spending Christmas with her family this year. Instead, she plans to celebrate it with some lovely kids

She was born and raised in a multi-ethnic family in Bahrain. And even though Jacqueline Fernandez, with a Sri Lankan dad and a Malaysian mom, moved to India in the mid2000s, the Bollywood actor always ensured that she spends Christmas with family. This year is different. “I won’t be with family as I am busy with work,” she says, as she does an exclusive photo shoot and chat with HT City.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Christmas is one of my favourite festivals because I have grown up celebrating it. It takes me back to many childhood memories. I celebrated mostly in Bahrain because I spent childhood there. We were four siblings, and my parents always used to do something fun for us. We got to put up the tree and open presents. Christmas is an amazing festival for children.

What’s your favourite memory?

There are so many [memories] but it’s mostly about opening the presents. One, that stands out, is of me in a toy store a night before Christmas and seeing a Barbie doll. I remember thinking, ‘I really like this doll but it’s too late for Santa to bring me this doll’. That same night, as we were opening presents after the midnight mass, I got the same doll. I was like, ‘Oh my God, Santa is so cool’. When I think about it now, I feel that our parent were so awesome.

You live in Mumbai. Do you miss your family on Christmas ?

I really do. This year, I won’t be with them as I am busy with work, but I’ve ensured that I’d be with them on New Year’s Eve. I feel if you don’t invest in your families and making memories with them, what will you recall when you look back at your life?

This year, what are your plans for Christmas?

I would like to visit an orphanage. There are a lot of lovely kids out there who understand Christmas, but have no one to celebrate it with. These things enrich your life in so many ways.

At this stage of life , if given an option, what would you ask Santa for?

It would be nothing materialistic. The well-being of my parents and their happiness would always top the list. So, I would wish for mine and their good health. There’s nothing more important. I would choose health over wealth, any day.

PHOTOS: SATISH BATE/HT Jacqueline Fernandez strikes a pose as she does an exclusive festive shoot with HT City