Left to right: Renee Wright, Jack Tame, Lucy Elliot and Art Green.
Left to right: Renee Wright, Jack Tame, Lucy Elliot and Art Green.
There’s still time to empty wallets and fill stockings, writes Russell Blackstock
Bad habits
What habit annoys you most at the Christmas dinner table?
Jack Tame, TV and radio presenter and Herald on Sunday columnist: "There are so many to choose from. It could be the fact we use a table cloth on one day a year, yet immediately stain it with cranberry sauce before dinner even kicks off. It could be an impotent Christmas cracker failing to bang or a paper hat that immediately splits across your abnormally large forehead. It could be that moment you realise your little brother didn't properly wipe the silver polish off your dessert spoon and the icecream takes on an unusual burning quality. For me, though, the most annoying habit is simply that of my stomach getting full too early. I never want the eating to stop. I never want the banter to stop. Christmas rules."
Rosie Kininmonth, former Bachelorette: "The highly audible mastication and sloth-like groans exercised by Chewbacca clones. Like a smelly person on a muggy bus that would offend the nostrils with a natural blue vein cheese odour, a Chewie lookalike champing at the bit prompts violent regurgitation. If you find yourself in this onerous predicament, to avoid misophonia, please remove yourself from the situation and go eat with the dog - it will be more pleasant."
Art Green, The Bachelor NZ: "The most annoying Christmas dinner habit is when someone starts eating their dinner before everyone is seated at the table. In my family this is always heavily frowned upon."
Renee Wright, TV One presenter: "We have annoying Christmas dinner table habits down to a fine art. Most involve mum and her Christmas traditions obsession, including how she insists everyone wears their Christmas cracker hats for the entire meal and an intense session of corny joke-telling (also out of crackers) which she finds hilarious, especially when she is convinced she knows the punchline. Dad spends about half an hour sharpening the knife to cut the roast but always blunts the knife more than when he started on it."
Paul Ego, comedian: "Having to pretend to lose in the Christmas cracker pull with a child. One day they'll be the grown-up and then they can win the cheap plastic hair clip and joke about a snowman's nose, but until then, suck it up, son."
Walter Neilands, Sticky TV presenter: "Using your phone at dinner. It seems all too common these days. Of all the days to avoid it, Christmas Day would be it. Phones off - and conversation switched on."
Ruth Wynn-Williams, TV One news reporter: "Diets! Unless it's doctor's orders, on Christmas Day don't bring your fad diet to my table. It should be a day for feasting, so loosen that belt and eat the spuds, eat the bread and all the chocolate. For me, sharing a big meal is a huge part of celebrating the good times. There will still be time for clean eating, paleo and sugar-free everything tomorrow."
Lucy Elliott (Dayna on Shortland Street): "Butter hogging. We have a big dinner table and lots of family around it. I can't stand it when someone takes the butter dish and keeps it down one end of the table, usually as far away from me as possible. Then you've got to ask 100 people to pass it down, or get up and get it yourself. You'd think we would have sorted the problem by now and perhaps created two butter dishes, but no, still after all these years, it's one dish and a butter hogger down one end of the table."
Christmas cards waiting on the sideboard to be posted? A gift that should have been sent weeks ago?
If you are posting within New Zealand and opt for FastPost, Courier Parcel or Courier and Signature Parcel, you have until Wednesday to get them delivered by Christmas Eve. Two million parcels are expected to be processed this coming week, plus 65,500 letters to Santa, a New Zealand Post spokesperson said.
Presents
At the mall ... If you have forgotten to get something for those long-lost relatives coming for Christmas, there is still time to buy gifts.
Westfield outlets around the country are open until 10pm until Wednesday and 6pm on Christmas Eve.
Online ... If you can't face battling the crazy Christmas shopping crowds, it's not too late to order online.
Mighty Ape has 560,000 gifts and products ready to ship at its Auckland distribution centre.
For New Zealand, standard post cut-off for Christmas delivery is Wednesday (except "dangerous goods" such as perfume, which have a Tuesday cut-off date). People in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch can also upgrade to "same-day delivery".
Cut-off for same-day delivery is Thursday (Auckland 5pm, Wellington and Christchurch 1pm).
In Auckland, people can also collect orders up to 7pm on Christmas Eve at the Mighty Ape headquarters in Albany.
EziBuy has thousands of products still available online - womenswear, menswear, homeware and Christmas gifts.
Priority delivery - to arrive next working day - costs $10 (some exclusions apply - for rural delivery, allow up to two working days).
For orders over $200 customers get a complimentary upgrade to priority delivery (and pay insteadfor standard delivery of $7.50).
Christmas shopping at St Lukes mall. Photo / Dean Purcell
Food
Ordering in ...
The good news is you don't have to wait until Christmas Eve to buy your Christmas tucker.
Strawberries, pavlova and panettone bought today will still be fine on Christmas Day. A cured ham will last three to four days, so it's best to leave that for a bit.
Careful with seafood, though. Fresh shrimps and scallops only keep a few days in the fridge so get them late on December 23 to eat on Christmas Day.
If shopping, cooking and washing up is too much hassle, why not eat out?
Christmas lunch or dinner at the Langham Hotel's Eight restaurant is $260 an adult and $175 a child.
A Christmas Day buffet breakfast at Knights on Albert restaurant at the Stamford Plaza is $33 (adult) and $16.50 (child). Christmas Day buffet lunch and dinner is $139 and $79.
The Cut on Federal offers a Christmas buffet at $124 a person. And a buffet lunch or dinner at the Rendezvous Hotel costs $145 an adult and $60 for children.
Ordering in ...
Most caterers don't operate on Christmas Day but Gobble Catering offers platters to be collected from Eden Terrace. A Chimney Sizzler Christmas Lunch platter is $135, a roast buffet for 20 costs$650 and a range of Santa's Sarnies are also on the menu.
Christmas Day Sticky TV Christmas Special: Four, 7am Little Fockers: TV3, 8.30pm Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: Sky Movies, Disney channel, 8.40pm. One Chance: TV ONE, 9.30pm.
Photo / Getty Images
Boxing Day Black Caps v Sri Lanka: Sky Sport 1 from 10.30am. Mr Bean's Holiday: TV3, 7pm. Armageddon: TV2, 7pm. Into the Woods: Sky Movies, Disney channel, 7pm.
Afterwards
If you are left with presents you're less-than-impressed with, you could re-gift next year. Also a lot of people turn to Trade Me. Spokesman Logan Mudge said there were more than 165,000 searches for "unwanted gifts" last year, starting early on Christmas Day. Favourites included clothing, Lego, board games, cycling clothing and bike parts and DVDs.
"We also saw a lot of 'selfie sticks' - the stocking stuffer of 2014," Mudge said. "We even had a listing for an unwanted Christmas dinner and a failed greenhouse project ."
If you have a live tree to get rid of, the Auckland Council has some tips. People should ask a tree-seller if they will take it away and some rubbish transfer stations accept Christmas trees for a fee. Check the council website for more information. The last thing you feel like doing on Boxing Day is tidying up.
Christmas ham can feed the family for a few days. Although it doesn't last long in the fridge, it will last up to four months in the freezer.
You might need both the brolly and sunscreen over the festive season as mixed weather is predicted.
WeatherWatch forecaster Philip Duncan is picking it will be mostly dry on Christmas Day with a few isolated showers.
Bay of Islands, Auckland, Coromandel, BoP: Light winds from the south, so it's unlikely to be hot and humid in the morning, but may be a dry, sunny, warm afternoon. High: Low to mid-20s
Taupo/Hawkes Bay/Gisborne: Cool morning then sunny and warm with light winds. High: Mid-20s.
Wellington: Mostly sunny, could be a few cloudy areas. Light winds. High: Around 20.
Christchurch/Canterbury: A mix of sun and cloud, northeasterly breezes possible. High: Around 20.
Talking Santa Speak into your device's microphone and hear Santa repeat your words aloud. Talking Santa features new content every year, but it still allows you to create 3D video greetings and Christmas cards you can share by email or social media.
All Christmas Recipes If you're looking for culinary inspiration, this is a great app to have at your fingertips. The free version includes recipes for Christmas breakfast, stuffing, ham and turkey as well as a handy unit converter from imperial measurements to metric.
Secret Santa's Tombola This helps mobile shoppers find the perfect Secret Santa gift for friends, colleagues and loved ones. Simply pick a gender, set your price preference and tap the Tombola to spin.
Wrapping abc If you're all thumbs at wrapping presents, this app may be the solution. It guides you through different bows and wrapping styles to get presents that look perfect.
Santa Claus Yourself This app is kind of like Elf Yourself. You can use it to see how you would look with Santa's beard, or you can add your friends' pictures and see them in Santa's hat. Just snap a picture or grab a photo straight from your camera roll and the app will give it a Christmas makeover.
