CHARMAINE SEAH
Founder of Elementary Co.
FOR ME, WHAT CHRISTMAS REPRESENTS IS…
A season of gratitude and celebrating the year that has passed with my nearest and dearest. I love stuffing my face silly and spending lots and lots of quality time with my closest friends and family. My brother Brandon has lived overseas for over a decade now and Christmas is when the family finally comes back together again, so that’s always the biggest highlight for me.
Important Christmas traditions are putting up the Christmas tree with my kids and my folks, enjoying the big Christmas Eve dinner my parents throw at their home on Christmas Eve and attending mass on Christmas Day. After our second daughter Dahlia was born, we also started taking an annual family portrait and it’s really lovely to look back on the old portraits and see how the kids have grown over the years.
Growing up, my brothers and I would wait up till midnight on Christmas Eve because we’d get to open one Christmas present before we went to bed. We were only allowed to open the rest of the presents on Christmas morning. I wish I had continued this tradition with my kids actually, because it’s always mayhem at my parents’ place on Christmas Eve with everyone exchanging presents and the kids opening everything there, so that we have to lug all the presents back home after. It is pretty chaotic.
What I love most about Christmas is being able to just soak in the festive spirit, surrounded by all the people who are most important to me, and take stock of the year that I’ve had because there's always so much to be grateful for.
TO CREATE THE FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE, I GO FOR…
This story is from the December 2022 edition of ELLE Singapore.
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This story is from the December 2022 edition of ELLE Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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