The Australian Women's Weekly Christmas 2025

When I saw the beautiful images from our Christmas cover shoot, I smiled with joy. Peter Brew-Bevan’s photos of Julie Goodwin with her family at the beach feel so iconically Australian – if there was a soundtrack to this shoot it would be Paul Kelly’s How to Make Gravy. The images immediately made me want to book flights to Adelaide where my family will be spending Christmas this year at Mum’s house by the beach. After feasting over a lazy lunch we usually wander down to the water for an afternoon swim. The Weekly has loved welcoming Julie back as a columnist this year, and hope you have enjoyed her Family Favourites recipes – including her Christmas classic, Prawn and Mango Salad (page 201). It seemed only fitting to celebrate…

Sophie Tedmanson EDITOR DEPUTY EDITOR Tiffany Dunk CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joshua Beggs FEATURES News & Features Editor Samantha Trenoweth Senior Writer Genevieve Gannon HEALTH & BEAUTY Health & Beauty Editor Ashleigh Austen STYLE Style Director Mattie Cronan Market Editor Lilly Veitch TRAVEL Travel Editor & Chief Copy Editor Bernard O’Shea COPY Deputy Copy Editor Bronwyn Phillips Deputy Copy Editor Nicole Hickson Copy Editor Georgia Moore FOOD – WOMENSWEEKLYFOOD.COM.AU Food Director Frances Abdallaoui Food Digital Managing Editor Sarah McInerney Digital Content Producer Chanel Gellin DIGITAL – WOMENSWEEKLY.COM.AU Digital Editor Orlaith Costello Senior Content Producer Tia Thomas Social Content Producer Jessica Parker Social Content Producer Lizzie Wilson ART & PHOTOS Shoot & Photo Director Jane Vincent Senior Designer Madeleine Wright Senior Designer Jennifer Mullins REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Maggie Beer (Food), Georgina Bitcon (Home Hints),…

Letter of the month How inspiring to read the stories in the December AWW from three octogenarian ladies – Sandra Atkins (Goodwill hunting), Ita Buttrose (Let’s talk about sex) and Jeanne Socrates (Go your own way), all of whom are still actively and meaningfully engaged in living their lives to the full. As a Baby Boomer just a few years younger, I share their enthusiasm and joie de vivre as I contribute as much time as possible to my church and community, while steadily working through my travel bucket list. Challenges, fulfilment and joy do not have an age limit, so let’s be determined to find them as we become older. Secret Harbour, WA. Paper free For the past few years, I’ve been getting The Weekly on my iPad. It’s…

Last Christmas Eve, as the Prince and Princess of Wales stood in Westminster Abbey with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, the carols they sang in celebration of those who had shown “love, empathy and kindness” would have soared to the vaulted ceiling with particular poignancy. The Royal couple were perhaps reflecting on the love and kindness that helped them endure the most “scary and unpredictable” year of their marriage as Catherine fought cancer. “It brings you face-to-face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you never considered before,” she had revealed. “And with that, a new perspective on everything.” In January this year, they shared a photo of Catherine looking happy, strong and officially in remission, along with a tender tribute from Prince William. “The strength you’ve shown…

Birdsong was nature’s first alarm clock before the concept of time was even imagined. Their calls and cries set the rhythm for our day, signalling when to rise and when to rest. A lullaby of coos, or the rude shock of a rooster’s crow. We learnt to decode their complex concertos so we too could know when a storm was approaching or when a pride of lions was on the prowl. Understanding their language became critical to our survival. Birds kept us safe. They have always served as our scouts and guides, weathervanes and soothsayers. As we gathered berries in the forest or fished in the streams, their chirruping symphonies accompanied us. They became our friends. Well, ‘friends with benefits’ when we discovered how delicious they tasted roasted over coals.…

I’ve had one of those years. The kind where every week feels like a marathon, every weekend another set of logistics, and every “day off” quietly fills itself with jobs I’ve been putting off since April. By the time mid-year rolled around, I realised something: I wasn’t tired, I was done. As cooked as the crackling I’m famous in my family for. And the thought of hosting Christmas this year felt less like joy and more like another task on a never-ending list. It was time for a shift. Christmas Day also falls annoyingly right in the middle of my big break. Because I’m the one with the longest table and the dinnerware obsession (So. Many. Plates!), I’ve always been the logical choice to host The Big Day. Plus, I’m…