How famous NI faces are spending Christmas
Kerry McKittrick talks to four well-known local people about how they like to spend the holiday
Tara Mills (47) is a BBC journalist and presenter. She is married to Daniel and they have two children, Daniel (11) and Aimee (10). She says:
We’re very traditional for Christmas Day and stick to the same thing every year. My husband has a big family so for breakfast we all go out to his sister’s house in Crumlin. It’s great because we all get to see everyone — there are so many of us I don’t know what other way we would do it. It can be so tricky to keep everyone happy but I think we’ve nailed that one.
Then we come home and host my family for Christmas dinner — my parents, my sister Pamela and my nephew Finn. Thankfully my husband is a brilliant cook so he does the turkey and all the trimmings. The rest of us try to help without getting under his feet.
Christmas can be difficult for a lot of people and I always try to be aware of this. I think most families will have an empty chair or there are people who don’t get to have a family Christmas at all. I’m very aware of not overdoing the festive spirit as a lot of people can find it a challenging time of year.
We used to be really good and go for a big walk after Christmas dinner but we haven’t done that for the last couple of years. We turn to the board games now — it’s good fun and the kids love it. My mum still does stockings for all of us — complete with chocolate coins. We’ve said that she doesn’t need to do it for the grown-ups but she insists every year.
It may sound a bit boring but I love my time with friends and family at Christmas and that is when I’m happiest. I love seeing my kids discover their Santa presents in the morning — the excitement and joy that brings to children is a real revelation to me.
My two don’t even write long lists or get tons of stuff, they’re just very easily pleased. If you have that in your life — with your children or nieces and nephews or someone else’s children — then it’s lovely to tap into.