Okay folks, it’s the weekend before Christmas and we’ve got you covered. Need gift ideas? Recipe inspiration? LOLS? Comebacks for relatives or a mental-health game plan for the next few days? We have it all.
Presents & Decorating
The Gift Guide Collection: Something For Everyone!
We’ve got our ultimate gift guide collection, our home & beauty special AND our under-$10 special for all of the present needs in your life.
Home Decorating Inspiration That Won’t Break The Bank
Festive decorations for your home for under $20? It IS possible.
Smells like Christmas! The Best Festive Scents for Your Home
Here are our picks for the best holiday scents and candles to lift your ho-ho-home fragrance game.
To Give Or Not To Give: Are Christmas Presents Positive Or Pointless?
Emma Clifton and Sarah Lang have different takes on a certain long-standing Christmas tradition: is buying presents part of the joy of the season, or just another exhausting thing to tick off the festive to-do list.
A Crafty Christmas: Easy DIY Presents That You’d 100% Want to Find Under Your Tree!
Easy homemade gifts you can start today and have ready in a couple of hours!
Love
“It’s My First Christmas Alone” + An Expert’s Top Tips for Surviving Your First Christmas as a Divorced Couple
While it always looks magical in the movies, in reality, Christmas can be a darned stressful time, particularly if you’re facing your first one after a divorce. Knowing what to expect and how to prepare is key – especially if you have kids. We talk to one woman who is about to embark on her first solo holiday season and we get all the info, tips and help from expert Bridgette Jackson.
WARNING: We Are in Peak ‘Boyfriends of Christmas Past’ Season: Are You in Danger of Getting ‘Marleyed’ Tonight?
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the land, women were being visited by all their ex mans (look this rhyme almost works, forgive me). Alice tells a festive tale of yore – with a warning for this holiday season.
How to Be Happy, Fabulous and Single This Christmas! (Plus, Clapbacks for Those Rude But Well-Meaning Relatives…)
Ah yes, the Bridget Jones dilemma: when your single life is put under the spotlight. We have your get-through-with-limited-swearing guide to handling nosy cousins, plus Brodie Kane’s tips on flying solo and doing your own thing this Christmas.
‘The Lingerie I Thought My Husband Bought Me For Christmas, Actually Went to His Secret Lover’
Think you’re having some bad luck love-wise this year? We spoke to a lovely woman who had the Christmas from hell – that was literally like something out of the storyline of Love, Actually.
It’s Break-up Season. You’re More Likely to Split in the Next Two Weeks Than Any Other Time…
Phew, we are at the end of peak break-up season – if you made it through the last two weeks, congratulations.
Family
Christmas Sorted: 30 Elf on The Shelf Ideas
Need some inspiration? We’ve got THIRTY different Elf on the Shelf ideas to help you survive December!
How To Deal With Difficult Family Members At Christmas (Without Losing Your Sh-t)
How do we deal with difficult family members or avoid enraging conversations with a certain relative or in-law over the holiday period
Struggling to Afford Christmas This Year? Turns Out, You’re Not Alone.
Can’t afford the festive season this year? A new credit report shows that lots of Kiwis are in the same boat as you. We chat to Kiwi women for their tips on how to have a cheap Christmas, without losing the festive joy.
Mental Health at Christmas
30 Christmas Hacks From Capsule Readers To Stay Stress-Free
Including an early night tip that we all need to read right now.
Feeling Like Festive Stress is Getting On Top Of You? Here’s What to do, Right Now!
As we get closer and closer to Christmas (oh, all while we have a recession looming, a crazy cost of living AND a resurgence of Covid) stress levels are rising higher and higher, with more people than ever needing assistance.
It’s A Celebration: Do We Need A Few More Rituals In Life?
Christmas, New Year’s, weddings – all fine and good. But what about creating some group rituals that mark other days and parts of our lives?
How To Have A Low-Key Festive Catch-Up
Got a crazy Christmas calendar with more to fit in? Here’s how to have a low-key Christmas catch-up with the people you love, without having to do the admin you hate.
Stop The Stress Bug: The Power of Body Language For Keeping Calm at Christmas
It’s been a long year and if Christmas is already a loaded time in your family, we have tips on how to keep yourself (and others!) cool under pressure.
Heading Toward Your First Christmas After Suffering a Loss? Here’s How to Cope if You’re Grieving This Festive Season
Ways to honour your missing loved one and look after yourself and your family in the process.
Food and wine
Nadia Lim’s Country Christmas – PLUS Her 5 Best Pavlova Recipes
Nadia Lim is planning the perfect, simple farm Christmas – and to help you with yours, she’s even given us FIVE pavlova recipes that are bound to go off at your place this festive season.
A Gluten-Free Feast: How to Eat Well and Deliciously (Without Breaking the Bank)
We talk to Lucy Donaldson, the brains behind Lucy’s Gluten Free, about how to go GF this xmas, how to cater for someone who has intolerances and how to do it all without spending a fortune!
Christmas Dinner Sorted! Part One: Sensational Starters and Summer Sides…
Fire up the BBQ!
Christmas Dinner Sorted! Part Two: The Main Event, Plus a Showstopper Dessert
Hear that? It’s the cheesecake of your dreams, calling your name.
Two Raw Sisters Create Delicious Vegan Meals For Long Summer Days and Celebrations!
Including a chocolate tart that has to be seen to be believed.
Cheers! Festive Cocktails, Without the Hangover…
One of the many Kiwis looking to ease up on alcohol after a rough year? We hear and support you – and you can still be festive as well!
Christmas With the Chefs: Mike van de Elzen & Gareth Stewart Share Their Secrets
Get advice from the pros for this Christmas: the big day itself PLUS how to get creative with all those delicious leftovers.
Nostalgia & Entertainment
Holiday Movie Bingo
Add some extra excitement to your viewing experience as you re-watch the holiday classics.
I’m Sorry But The Holiday is a TERRIBLE Movie – Here’s 5 Reasons Why
Kelly Bertrand takes a look at The Holiday from another perspective and realises that this damn movie makes NO sense.
Last Holiday Is The Perfect Movie You Haven’t Watched
At the time of year when we’re all re-watching the same festive classics, we want to shine a spotlight on a perfect yet underrated Christmas movie: Last Holiday.
Holiday Movie Characters I Am Now Older Than
Emma Clifton has an existential crisis brought on by Christmas movies… and the fact that she is now older than most of the characters (even the mums!!!)
A Passionate Defence of the Greatest Christmas Song of All Time – The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York
Kelly Bertrand’s ode to the greatest Christmas song of all time – and no, it’s not Mariah.
A Definitive Ranking Of My Love, Actually Crushes Over The Past 17 Years
Festive AND horny – what’s not to love?
Born in the 80s? Here Are 15 Things That Would Have Been on Your Wish List As a Kid…
Two words: POLLY POCKET
20 Christmas Presents You DESPERATELY Wanted to Find Under the Tree in the 2000s
Kelly Bertrand thought it was high time for a festive trip down memory lane and recalls the 20 best presents she lusted after as a less-than-cool tween
