A CHRISTMAS DIP

Jo O’Connell is founder of PR and marketing agency Jellyrock ( jellyrockpr.co.uk). She lives in Bournemouth with her partner, also Jo, and their children Bethany, eight, and Bo, who is six.

“We love Christmas Eve at home in Bournemouth, carrying out the little traditions of hanging stockings and leaving a mince pie out for Father

Christmas. Then we wake up and we open presents together the next morning,” she explains.

“The flip side of this is that we normally jump in the car and drive two to three hours to Kent to stay with my parents.

“In the past that’s meant that half the day is gone before we start properly celebrating.

“Christmas Day has just Jo and Jo O’Connell plan to take children Bo and Bethany to go surfing and paddle boarding on Bournemouth’s Southbourne Beach on Christmas Day felt too short, having spent two to three hours of it in the car. This year, due to the ever-shifting Covid regulations, we have planned to celebrate in our own way.

“We will start the day with a walk to Southbourne Beach and surf together or stand-up paddle board depending on the wind.

“We will all be wearing full winter wetsuits with hats, gloves and boots so I know that the kids will be really warm.

“Watersports are a great way to get perspective on Christmas Day. You see our world from a totally different angle. It’s so peaceful out there on the ocean looking back.

“And visiting the beach on Christmas morning is a heart-warming experience for us, too.

“There’s a real community feeling. People often have a few glasses of bubbly on the beach and this year we’ll be toasting each other from a distance.

“We’ll head back home afterwards for games and food and our budget will go much further this year with it just being the four of us.”