What Christmas means to me

Juliette Hogan; Diane Robertson. Illustrations / Andrew Louis.

Four people share their views on the festive season.

JULIETTE HOGAN

"Christmas to me is more than just the day itself but the anticipation of summer, relaxing and spending time with your favourite people. It's about slowing down, taking stock of the year that has just been and thinking about the year to come. It's about switching off and getting out of town for two weeks. It's about eating food slowly and leisurely - food that for some reason tastes so much better than it would after a day at work.

It's the smell of the barbecue and the endlessness of the ocean. It's buying a stack of books to wade through; waking, reading, dozing, eating, reading again, swimming, laughing and sleeping. It's about ice cubes clinking in a freshly poured G&T. Christmas (and the summer holiday) to me is about enjoying all that is good in life."

• Juliette Hogan is a fashion designer.

DIANE ROBERTSON

"The most important thing about Christmas for me is that it is a happy celebration. My memories of the day as a child are about exclusion, the extra stress it created and the impact this had on my family. This experience created a desire to prevent this for other children by assisting families to create joyful memories around Christmas. My role of hosting New Zealand's largest Christmas lunch [for the Auckland City Mission] allows me to do this. I share Christmas lunch with 2000 guests.

They come to have traditional fare, receive a gift but more importantly to share a sense of community. The guests include families living in poverty, refugees and the elderly. Seven hundred volunteers willingly give up their time on Christmas Day to prepare, serve and entertain these guests. Being part of this incredible community event makes for very special memories for all involved. It also highlights how each and every one of us can make a difference to the lives of others."

• Diane Robertson is the Auckland City Missioner. This Christmas the Mission will provide food and presents for thousands of Auckland families in desperate need. You can donate to their Christmas Appeal at becomesomeonesangel.co.nz.

Jyoti Morningstar; Judith Tabron.

Illustrations / Andrew Louis.

JYOTI MORNINGSTAR

"Being together without distraction is the part of Christmas I really love. It's one of the very few days a year when we all agree that answering a text or email and posting what you're eating right now on Instagram actually doesn't matter. I like that I get to be present in the room with the people who have made the journey to be there. There is time to start and finish a conversation.

We allow ourselves to be generous and indulge each other's whims and weirdnesses while celebrating knowing each other well enough to have found the right gifts and perfect treats to make each other feel loved and special. I'm a reasonably unabashed sensualist so I love that on Christmas Day, everyone else joins me in unapologetically creating and devouring beauty.

Making the house beautiful with flowers and general gorgeousness, wearing lovely dresses and preparing a ridiculous abundance of delicious food; then feasting like Romans and messing it all up. In Aotearoa we're twice blessed with Christmas and summer holidays so it can all unfold in beautiful gardens and on stunning beaches with so much time to just drop in. Divine. I love it."

• Jyoti Morningstar is the founder of yoga clothing brand We'ar.

JUDITH TABRON

"I always enjoy spending time with my family and this means that Christmas is a special time of year for me. Soul has one day off a year, Christmas Day, therefore I do like to get away from the place, however every couple of years I will host my large extended family at Soul and this usually gets up to about 60 or 80 people.

This year however, I will be spending the day at home with my husband and son and our families. I haven't quite finalised the food yet but I will be writing the menu and getting the guests to bring something along. I have free reign to raid the larder in Soul and put Gareth [Stewart, Soul head chef] to good use by getting him to prep and pack up the goodies for me. This also means I don't have to trawl though the supermarkets.

After lunch it will be a big get-together with our extended family for a good ol' fashioned sing-along. My brother, Paul, plays the guitar and my cousin plays the piano so everyone gets involved. And myself? I'll be the one singing the old Irish songs. Videos available on request!"

• Judith Tabron is the owner of Soul.

- VIVA