WHAT NEW YEAR
MEANS TO US Four stars reveal what they love about this time of year
Friends, family and lots of sparkle – four wellknown faces share their ingredients for what makes a great New Year celebration and their hopes for 2019… PHOTOGRAPHY NICKY JOHNSTON WORDS JEN CROTHERS
I’m a single parent to three boys, so this New Year’s Eve I’ll be at home with them. We’ll get a lot of food in, pull crackers and play games. My ex-husband is part Spanish and he started a tradition of eating grapes as the clock strikes 12. Grapes for the adults, raisins for the kids and on every ‘bong’ you’ll have a grape or a raisin; it’s become an important part of our New Year’s celebrations. That, food and family. I experimented with my slow cooker last year, but I put too much liquid in it and the food came out like something Charlie from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory would have eaten at home. I haven’t used my slow cooker again since that.
My son Olly has Down’s syndrome. He was born at the beginning of August and my brother had his baby at the beginning of December, but my baby could do less at three months than what his baby could do at two weeks. That was pretty bleak, but hardly anyone has a perfect Instagram-style Christmas and it’s important to remember that.
Nowadays in our house we tend to celebrate everything. I think that’s something you get into the habit of doing when you have a child with Down’s syndrome. They need a lot of encouragement because life is discouraging for them. When Olly sat up for the first time we had Champagne, when he learnt to crawl we had Champagne, when he learnt to walk we had Champagne, too. Every week that goes by without incident we have a celebration and a treat. His dream treat is cinema and Pizza Express with his girlfriend, and his second would be to see a Chelsea match. He’s crazy for Chelsea, so hopefully he’ll get to see them in 2019.
I make about 20 New Year’s resolutions every year, but I don’t keep many because they go on for ever, don’t they? Giving up something for Lent is easier. That’s a doable 40 days, but for ever is tricky. I always vow to do more exercise but, inevitably, I never do. ◆ Sally Phillips stars in Surviving Christmas