Australian Women’s Weekly NZ Christmas 2017

For this, our Christmas issue, I asked our wonderful AWW team to write a few words about what they love most about the season. For some it was easy, while for our Deputy Editor, Emma – a true worshipper of everything Christmas – it was hard to fit her favourite things into just a few lines. Admittedly, just getting our heads around the fact that Christmas is a few short weeks away takes some effort for most of us. Life is always so busy at this time of year, it’s difficult to think about getting present lists together, fighting your way to the back of the garage to find the box of Christmas decorations (and the tree stand, which in our house we can never find and end up buying…

MICHELE CRAWSHAW Editor - Christmas decorations made by our kids over the years. I love walking past the tree and seeing all of their wonderful handmade treasures. EMMA CLIFTON Deputy Editor - The movie Love Actually, eggnog, Michael Buble’s Christmas album, Neil Diamond’s Christmas album, Christmas Starbucks, Home Alone 2 and Mum’s Christmas cooking. BRONWYN MACKENZIE Art Director - On December 1, I love getting out the Christmas decorations and having a festive home for a month. I especially love my framed Christmas tree that is made up of jewellery from my mother, grandmother, nana, great aunts and even one piece from my great-grandmother, who I was lucky enough to know. A beautifully kitsch piece of nostalgia. MARSHA SMITH Designer/Craft Editor - I simply love making gifts for others, but…

GIVEAWAY The critically acclaimed circus extravaganza Cirkopolis – by Montreal-based troupe Cirque Éloize – is set to thrill Auckland audiences from December 5-10 and we’ve got the ultimate prize pack to give away. The prize pack includes four Cirkopolis Premium Elite tickets, giving you access to an exclusive pre-show lounge at The Civic, a free beverage on arrival and during interval, and a Cirkopolis souvenir programme each. To enter, email awweditor@bauermedia.co.nz, subject line “Cirkopolis”, or enter online at nowtolove/cirkopolis and enter the code AWWMG012 by December 1, 2017. Follow us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/awwmagazine and on Instagram @awwmagazine.…

A good read Pearl of wisdom“ Need to soften butter without melting it? Warm a small glass in the microwave for a few seconds, then place it over the butter. It will quickly soften and be perfect for spreading. ” What a joy to read your November issue. I especially loved the Mimi Spencer article about middle age. I am in my 60s and I can really laugh about some of Mimi’s observations. Your regular columnists Jo and Pat are always a good read. Thanks for Monica McInerney’s travelog about Dublin – where I lived for several months. What a beautiful place it is with genuinely kind people. JILL Gutsy lady I read with much admiration the Georgina Beyer interview with Judy Bailey in the October edition of your…

Annabel Langbein is truly a star. Why I don’t take life for granted, in the November issue, is an inspiration and, for our family, reinforces the way we view life. In April this year one of our daughters suffered a jetsprint racing accident, which caused a severe brain injury. The loss of speech and cognitive skills, the headaches and fatigue shocked and tested us. Communicating with single words, pointing and “ums” gave a new direction to charades. But did she give up? No! The long rehab continues, nudging the brain to relearn many basic skills we take for granted, including being able to cook, which she was passionate about. Our lovely daughter is on a journey – from busy mum and practice nurse to a shadow of her former self, she…

In a perfect, happy accident, Antonia Prebble has turned up for her Australian Women’s Weekly Christmas interview in an inadvertently festive outfit. A cherry-red dress with floral appliqué, her short, wavy bob framing that porcelain face. She’s darted home in between jobs; otherwise there was a risk, she laughs, of turning up in the safety-pinned vintage dress she was just shooting in for an ad. Such is the life of one of New Zealand’s most successful actresses; many roles, many outfits to fit into a working day. But there has been a discernible shift, Antonia says, in her priorities in the past year; a change in the air now guiding her decision for what comes next. The potent combination of restlessness and ambition that has fuelled the 33-year-old for the…