TenEighty’s Christmas Extravaganza 2017

Who doesn’t love Christmas traditions?

Whether it be opening a present on Christmas Eve, playing board games with the family, or having eating contests with your siblings, everyone has something that annually makes the holiday season that much better. TenEighty’s Christmas tradition? Speaking to our faves about the holidays. As with previous years, we’ve asked a handful of them about their favourite festive memories, from Lego-induced trips to A&E to runaway mountain goats.

Grab a cup of mulled wine and a gingerbread biscuit, and let’s get into the festive spirit!

Antoinette Belle

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“When I went to California last year and spent the holidays doing nothing but eating, driving, and travelling.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“[My] favourite part is the evening on Christmas Day when Doctor Who comes on, you’re full of roast potatoes and drinking wine from mugs.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“Probably the electric blanket I just got myself. Warm toes are the best Christmas gift. Failing that, I’d say just love, which is soppy and gross. But, yeah, love.”

Tom Ridgewell

When asked for comment, Tom Ridgewell just laughed.

Nellie Robert

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“The smell of a real Christmas tree! When I smell that, I know that Christmas is here.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“My favourite part of the holiday season is the holiday food and drinks!”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“The best gift that I’ve ever received was my first pair of roller-skates, given by my grandma.”

NeonFiona

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“My favourite Christmas memory is my future one, where I’m hanging out with my girlfriend in a painfully expensive but beautiful cottage in Sweden with our three puppies – two li’l pups and one big pup. There will be mince pies, a mango and avocado salad (I’m Australian, don’t judge), and eggnog, even though I’ve never had that before. It just seems fitting. Is this technically a memory? No, not ‘technically’. But I’mma visualise it until it comes true and then it will be a memory, so sorry not sorry for having fantastic foresight.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“Mince pies, Christmas songs, and just the goshdang festive spirit.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“[The] best gift is probably my most recent birthday present. I was whisked away to a gorgeous island in Greece, where we had a private beach and ocean views. I was also surprised with kayaking, so yeah, the idiot girlfriend really came through there. My housemate has swung both Little Mix tickets AND Hamilton tickets, though, so that’s a really strong contender. Basically, I’m just real #blessed.

“[The] best gift I’ve given is hard to choose because I am quite honestly the greatest at gift giving and I don’t want to make everyone else look bad by talking about it.”

Calum McSwiggan

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“My favourite Christmas memory was waking up one Christmas morning as a very young kid to find that my parents had not only bought me the enormous Lego castle that I wanted, but that they’d also stayed up all night building it, so that it was ready for me to play with. The day was going so well until I decided it would be a good idea to put one of the tiny pieces up my nose and had to be rushed to the emergency room. We had to drive for an hour to get to the hospital, but just as my dad carried me through the front doors, the little piece of plastic popped out all by itself.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“My favourite part of the holiday season is getting to escape the bitter cold and go eat good food and play with our border terrier in the family home in Spain.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“One year, I got an unexpected Christmas bonus and bought my parents a ridiculous 13-foot Christmas tree and decorations for their new home. Ever since, I’ve been bringing them a new decoration for the tree from all the different countries I visit.”

Ewan McIntosh

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“My favourite Christmas memory is from when I had just turned six. We were having Christmas at my uncle’s farm, and during lunch I slipped out [to] befriend his goats and their new [kids]. As soon as I opened the gate to their pen to go say hi, however, they all sensed freedom in the air and barrelled past me to escape. It subsequently transpired that they were, in fact, mountain goats, and thus my entire extended family proceeded to then spend the next hour trying to wrangle them out of all the trees on the farm. Best Christmas ever. Probably not to everyone else who was there, though.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“My favourite part is the Christmas music. Christmas music is the current best thing we’ve come up with as a species. It just makes everything feel so GOOD.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“My favourite gift I’ve ever given was a cushion with a stupid photo of some deer on it to a friend. I know that probably makes absolutely no sense and it’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever come up with, but her reaction was priceless and there’s something so ! about getting someone a really unique present. Makes you feel good inside, innit.”

Scola Dondo

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“I was about eight years old ,and we decided to open our presents just after midnight that year. I opened a box and inside was a tiny phone the size of my palm. I couldn’t believe it was a real phone. I thought it was a toy phone, so I ran around screaming because I honestly couldn’t believe it. I still have it in my room to this day! Such a great memory – I’ve never been so surprised.”

What’s your favourite part of the holiday season?

“My favourite part is having no obligation to really do anything other than chill out with family. I can just spend a whole day laughing and eating with my family, rather than worrying about work or anything else.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“Last year, I was having trouble sleeping, so my sister got me lots of cute light-up stuff, like a mood-changing pillow, fairy lights, and an aurora lights projector. So, at least if I am up, my room looks super magical and relaxing.”

Jake Edwards

What’s your favourite Christmas memory?

“It sounds strange, but when I think of Christmas I always think back to being really young. I’d pull the cushions off the sofa and arrange them under the tree, so I could lie beneath it and look up through the branches at all the lights and tinsel. This was my favourite thing to do, and I’d actually get sad when the presents would build up and I couldn’t wiggle in between them anymore.”

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

“Food. I’m not really one for presents and Christmas has changed a lot for me since growing up. Food is the one thing that’s always been good.”

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received and/or given?

“Again, an unconventional answer. It’s super cheesy, but the best gift I’ve received is being able to spend Christmas Day with Alex [Bertie] (my boyfriend) and his family. I started spending Christmas with him after I came out as trans to my family and things weren’t great at home. I don’t think material things really match up to that.”