Noelle McCarthy & Eve

You might think it was on purpose that broadcaster Noelle McCarthy gave her daughter Eve an equally festive name to her own. But it was, the 38-year-old admits, “a happy accident”. As a Christmas baby herself – born on December 23 – Noelle says her parents did such a good job celebrating both her birthday and Christmas that somewhere along the lines there was some confusion. “I actually grew up thinking that the reason people were so happy at Christmas was because it was my birthday,” she laughs. “I thought Christmas was mine.” Born in Ireland, Noelle has been living on and off in New Zealand since 2002 but having good weather for Christmas is “still a novelty”. Growing up, her family was big on festive traditions – literally. So great is her mother’s obsession with getting an oversized Christmas tree that one year it came down to a tree vs house conundrum. The solution? “Dad had to knock a hole in the ceiling in order to fit the Christmas tree into the living room. It went too far. It absolutely went too far.” Noelle and her partner John Daniell, a writer, will be avoiding last-minute DIY this year in Martinborough – “not sure the rented holiday house will withstand that” – but they’re both excited about creating new traditions with Eve, who’ll be five months old at Christmas. “The great thing about Eve is we’ve started thinking about making memories as a family,” Noelle says. Santa will start turning up at some stage; Noelle’s mother was big on her children writing letters to Father Christmas, and as the daughter of two writers, that’s no doubt in Eve’s future as well. “We’re probably a few years off that, but as soon as she can, I’ll make sure Eve puts all her requests in writing!”