It began as a joke but Tanya’s family keeps up this quirky Christmas tradition

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As the carol says: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.” While Australia may lack the snowmen, roaring fires and sleigh bells often referenced in Christmas songs, Christmas is still widely celebrated.

“Christmas remains a significant cultural moment in Australia,” says Ashley Fell of social research company McCrindle. “We value moments that create connection, community and belonging, and Christmas is one of the strongest examples of this. It’s a time for family gatherings, gift-giving, shared meals and rituals that anchor people in tradition.”

From small gatherings to large, everyone has their own way of celebrating Christmas.

Historically, Australians from many different backgrounds have upheld customs passed down through generations, often centred on a big meal with extended family. But the flipping of the seasons also means enjoying the summer weather with barbecues and poolside gatherings.

What’s more, Australian Christmas traditions continue to evolve, “shaped by demographic and generational change, cost-of-living pressures and growing cultural diversity”, says Fell. “Christmas now sits alongside a broader calendar of cultural celebrations.”

People are also embracing practices such as “Friendsmas” – gatherings with close friends – as well as values-driven spending, purchasing low-waste gifts, and prioritising experiences over material items. Here, three women share their family’s take on Christmas and why it’s important to them.

‘The creativity brings us closer’: Tanya Mugavin, 41

Each year at Christmas, Tanya’s family throw out ideas for the next year’s theme, making sure it’s budget-friendly and appropriate for all ages.

“Christmas is a very special time for me and my family. It’s more than just a holiday; it gives us the chance to slow down, appreciate each other and create memories to last a lifetime.

Our favourite Christmas tradition involves choosing a theme and then dressing up – the more creative, the better. Everyone in the family takes part. The oldest participant is our nana, who’s 89, and the youngest would be my sister’s baby, Billy, who’ll be about four months old this Christmas.

It all started in 2009, at Nana and Pa’s house. The year prior, Pa had been disappointed that we hadn’t participated in a game of family cricket, so the next year the grandchildren decided to dress up in cricket whites to surprise him. Now, each year at Christmas, we sit around and throw out ideas for the next year’s theme, making sure it’s budget-friendly and appropriate for all ages.

Some of the themes for our family Christmases over the years include family dressing up as characters from Alice in Wonderland, the Village People, the Flintstones. One time, Nana and Pa were Sylvester and Tweety.

We’ve also had the ‘op-shop formal’, which included some very glam puffy-sleeve dresses, amazing vests, and hats. ‘Anything but clothes’ was another funny theme; there were outfits made from garbage bags, car seat covers, leaves, sheets, ironing board covers, wrapping paper, tinsel, even a Twister mat. Each year is exciting, anticipating how creative everyone will get.

Our Pa passed away in 2019, so we made sure to continue the tradition for Nana. The best reaction is seeing her face when we all walk in – she is so proud and can’t wait to show the photos to her friends. We always have a group photo, plus one of Nana with the grandkids and another of her with her adult children. These get created into a calendar for her.

Our family will continue the Christmas dress-up tradition because the costumes, laughter and shared creativity bring us closer, filling the season with warmth and memories we’ll cherish forever.”

‘We run before we eat’: Christine Hutchinson, 39

Rain, hail or shine, Christine’s family will start Christmas Day with a run.

“We only have a small family, and Christmas isn’t super important to us, but we do get together every year. When my kids [now 10 and 12] were younger we just did a morning routine: the kids could open stocking presents before breakfast, then Christmas-tree presents after breakfast. We’d have lunch at our house with my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law and his wife and kids, and my husband’s nana.

Then, in 2018, we started a new tradition: we got dressed up in Christmas-themed outfits and did the Christmas Day Parkrun. Our family was already going to Parkrun on Saturday mornings and since our first Christmas Day run, seven years ago, we’ve done it every year – rain, hail or shine. The kids enjoy dressing up and bringing a smile to people’s faces and we know a lot of the Parkrun community, so it’s nice to wish them a merry Christmas. The kids then get McDonald’s pancakes for breakfast before heading home to open presents.

It’s actually a pretty popular thing for people to do, with two of the three local Parkruns attracting more than 100 participants on Christmas Day, often more than on a regular day. I’m not sure why others participate but they may share the same sentiment as us: that it’s a nice thing to do before going home to eat and drink. Throw in the New Year’s Day run on top of the regular Saturdays and there is also the challenge of doing the four Parkruns in less than two weeks.

While runners don’t have to dress up, we do. We just think it’s fun. I’ve dressed as Santa multiple times and have a summer and winter outfit, depending on how warm it is. I also have a gingerbread man costume, and the kids are usually elves. I also run with a portable speaker playing Christmas music. We get quite a few comments from other Parkrunners who sing and dance while they walk or run, and say how lovely it is to see the kids out having fun.

Parkrun is organised and managed by volunteers, so even in 2023, when the weather was terrible, we wanted to go and make it worthwhile for the volunteers. We wouldn’t have Parkrun without them.”

‘We have multiple trees’: Kathryn Jasper, 51

Just one of the many trees Kathryn has in her home.

“Christmas is very important to me. It’s a time of reflection and I give thanks that I have family and friends around me. My family’s unique Christmas tradition is having more than one tree on display.

We have our big tree, decorated with the usual red, green and gold colours and lovely collected ornaments, some of which have a meaning or a link to events or someone in our family. We are up to about five or six trees now, all with different themes.

It started in 2020 because my husband bought me a beautiful pink Santa and I realised that none of our existing decorations suited the new arrival. I also realised that we didn’t use a lot of the tree decorations I’d been collecting over the years, and this was disheartening. So I found a smaller tree, decorated it with new colours and put it in another place in the house.

The next year I got another couple of small trees and decorated them with footy- and army-themed ornaments and colours: we have trees celebrating Aussie food and animals, gingerbread, Collingwood and Star Wars. These new additions have all been a big hit with the family, and friends comment on the decorations. I especially love finding decorations that suit my family’s individual personalities.

We generally decorate the main tree as a family each year. We play the cheesy Christmas music, pull out the ornaments and unroll the lights. My kids love that we still have the little ornaments they made in kindergarten, and even though they now see them as ugly, they still hang them every year.

I love Christmas and I love creating the feeling it creates. This will be our first Christmas in our forever home. I’m hoping it will be a very special time, with Christmas in every corner of the house. I am sure that the memories we create now will last a lifetime.”

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