TEODORA SUTRA

Model (right), with her sister, Margarita (left), and her mum, Zane

2016 was an amazing year for me. I took as many weekends away from work as I could: Iceland, Tenerife, Prague and California. So many little holidays. I really feel fulfilled this year. I tried to think of myself and what I actually wanted to do, and just did it. I’m focusing on spending money on experiences rather than material things.

I love Christmas. I think it’s the one time of year where you just spend it with your family and the people really close to you; the people that mean the most to you.

I don’t enjoy the extreme build-up to Christmas, the commercial side of it. That side of Christmas bothers me a little bit. In my family, we never really worry about presents — we get each other little things. But a card that someone’s made for me — I remember those things for life.

So, in our family, we just get together and spend our time together. Myself and my brother live in Dublin, and my Mum and my sister live in Wexford, so we don’t see each other that often. Christmas is our time together. We make a nice dinner — well, actually, we just have food all day long . . . all week long. And have that time together — whether we’re watching movies, or doing some art together, or just doing absolutely nothing. It’s so homely.

One of my favourite things about Christmas is when it’s cold outside and we are all cosy inside, and not having to go to work. We spend most of the day in our pyjamas, but then, for Christmas dinner, we would get a little bit dressed up, and have loads of dishes.

In Latvia, where I’m from, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, so on the 24th, in the evening, that’s when we have the Christmas dinner. It’s not much different, but we do have a tradition. When we were younger, on Christmas Eve, we’d have our gifts under the tree, and then we’d each have to sing a Christmas song to get our presents. So we’d have to sing a song and then we’d get our gift, and we still do. Christmas Day for us, it’s just lounging, relaxing, eating and more eating.

Author and wellness guru, pictured with and her son, James (six)

It’s been a huge year, both personally and professionally. 2016 is the year it all came together for me. I’m really loving what I do, and absolutely passionate about what I do for a living. It’s just incredible.

My book came out this year, which is amazing. I’m still studying nutrition, but so many crazy things have happened to me along the way, and from a wellness perspective, I really feel I have hit another level. It’s the year that I’ve come out and said I’m sober in LIFE magazine, so it’s been a crazy, emotional year; a great year for personal growth. Really, for me, this year proved that anything is possible. I really feel I have set the groundwork for 2017 to be awesome.

After my LIFE article about my sobriety came out in August, it was a very emotional few weeks. I really tried to answer people’s emails and letters, and I was really humbled by the stories that I was reading. I actually didn’t realise the extent of the drink problem and the pain and suffering that is happening in our country. There is light and life at the end of the tunnel, and writing the piece was a huge turning point for me. I’m delighted I did it, and I feel like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

It’s been a great year — my sister just had a baby; a little boy. Everyone in my family is doing really well at the moment. We lost my grandfather recently, which was very sad; he’d been sick for a while. But I’m very lucky — we’ve had our ups and downs, like all families, but at the moment everyone is healthy and happy and doing really well. I’m just looking forward to Christmas spent with my family. For me the simple things give me the most pleasure, they really do — sitting down watching TV, spending quality time with my son, James.

Santa is bringing everything to do with soccer. James is six, so he’s the perfect age for Christmas. I’m just excited to spend time with him, and going to see Santa and just having fun. I’m looking forward to sitting by the fire. I love winter. I absolutely love it, playing board games, reading books — they are the kinds of things that make me tick these days.

We’ll all chip in for the cooking on Christmas Day. Kate, my younger sister is a great cook, so we will share it. Really, for me, when it comes to enjoying Christmas, it’s about not throwing caution to the wind and throwing all my good habits out the window. It’s about good lifestyle habits and changes. You can get away with relaxing a little bit at Christmas if you’re still keeping your wellness on track, and your lifestyle habits on track.

I look forward to the Christmas dinner and the dessert, and sitting on the couch and snuggling up. But I’ll make sure to get up and I’ll get out for a walk. I want to be mindful about recharging for the New Year, and hit the ground running for 2017.