Osher Günsberg, Audrey Griffin, Georgia and Wolfie
Growing up the child of European immigrants, Osher Günsberg says Christmas was a formal affair. “I remember a Czech priest turning up at one stage.”
Wife Audrey Griffin’s parents were also immigrants, but with Fijian heritage, her traditions revolved around the sharing of food and a minimum of 20 in attendance. “Christmas drama doesn’t happen,” she smiles. “There is no fighting, everyone is welcome.”
It was around Christmas time that the couple first met and fell in love – and when Osher formed a connection to stepdaughter, Georgia.
“We danced around to Mariah Carey,” Osher recalls of one of their earliest meetings. “Georgia created this full choreographed number.”
This year, son Wolfie will likely replace his dad in the Christmas concert. “He likes all the Christmas jingles so I will probably start teaching him some routines,” Georgia laughs.
Chloé and Sarah Hayden
For Chloé Hayden, the countdown to Christmas begins on Boxing Day.
Year round, the Heartbreak High star eagerly digests festive movies and songs, waiting for St Nicholas to return. Her enthusiasm is only rivalled by her mother, Sarah, who engulfs their Christmas tree with presents – even for children who aren’t her own.
“As a foster family of five years, it wasn’t uncommon for us on Christmas Eve to get a phone call saying, ‘take this whole family of children’,” Sarah tells The Weekly.
Without hesitation, the social worker would rush to add gifts to their overflowing living room, determined every child would receive an equal abundance of presents.
For her part, Chloé loves additional seats at their Christmas table. “Anyone can come,” she enthuses, adding she appreciates the “togetherness” of the holiday.
“I find myself looking around and going, ‘every single person that I care about is in this room’. ”
Rob Mills and Georgie Tunny
Before meeting his fiancée in 2018, Rob Mills was “indifferent” to Christmas.
Now, he and The Project host Georgie Tunny binge “terrible” festive movies and wrap presents listening to Georgie’s favorite Yuletide tune, Carol of the Bells.
Things are only going to get bigger this year as the duo have their first blended Christmas with their
future in-laws and extended family.
Georgie inherits her festive cheer from her family who, while small in numbers, is mighty in holiday spirit. And she predicts her relatives will be as overwhelmed as she was when meeting Rob’s extended family – a day she deems a “baptism by fire”.
“We’re a tight-knit family,” Georgie tells The Weekly. “Christmas is the biggest deal because we get to hang out and have family time.”
For Rob, who is currently starring in & JULIET, it’s the quiet “time alone” with Georgie that he cherishes. “The nothingness is quite lovely,” the singer says. “That’s the thing we do best.”
Tristan, Tahyna, Echo, Oisin and Tadgh McManus
Tristan and Tahyna MacManus loved their first Christmas as parents. They’d moved into what would become their family home just a few days earlier, along with firstborn Echo, now seven.
“We had no furniture, no tree,” recalls Tahyna. “We decorated a tiny fiddle-leaf fig.”
“But it was our tree and it was our house and it was our baby,” says Studio 10 co-host Tristan with a fond smile.
Before kids – which now includes Oisin and Tadgh – Tristan’s job as a dancer meant the duo spent holidays travelling. The idea of having a home base still feels like a dream.
While Boxing Day cricket isn’t for Tristan, his wife’s family has introduced him to a different sporting event. “We all do our best version of a cannonball into the outdoor pool,” Tahyna laughs, which they film to see who performed the best “trick”.
And at the end of the day, adds Tristan, “as long as we’re together, though, it doesn’t really matter where we are.”
