For many families, Christmas is a time of over-indulgence.
But Loose Women panellist Kéllé Bryan, who plays Martine Deveraux in Hollyoaks, has revealed that her solution to her children Regan, eight, and Kayori, six – and her home – becoming overwhelmed with new things is not to buy them any presents!
Kéllé, 45, insists it’s ‘because they get so many’ from the rest of their family and friends. She even makes them give one present each to charity. Talking to Woman’s Own, Kéllé said, ‘If you said to our children, “Does Mummy buy you presents?”, they’d probably say yes. We’ve got a massive family and they get completely spoilt.
‘They’ve got three sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and godparents who are all massive parts of their lives, so they get so much and I don’t need to add any more.’
Speaking of how Regan and Kayori don’t notice that they don’t get any gifts from mum, she adds, ‘They really don’t miss it. They don’t have a clue.’ Another reason Kéllé said she won’t buy presents is so that the house doesn’t get cluttered with toys that her kids will get bored with – and more than likely get rid of – after a few weeks.
‘On Christmas morning, they tear through the wrapping like it’s nothing, like they don’t actually know the value of what they’re getting. They’ll be like, “Oh, that’s amazing!” and put it over there, then rip through the next one: “Oh, that’s great!”’
And when it comes to the adults in Kéllé’s family, they prefer to do a Secret Santa with a budget of no more than £10 per present. ‘Otherwise, Christmas would cost an absolute fortune,’ she says.
After the difficult year we’ve all had, Kéllé is hoping to make this Christmas extra-special by ‘going over the top with things like decorations’. Revealing more about her plans, she adds enthusiastically, ‘We always put holly all around the house, so I’ll probably go out and buy a new tree and new lights, just to make it feel really festive.’
And is there anything in particular that Kéllé is wishing for this year?
‘I’d really love a COVID-free Christmas,’ she says thoughtfully. ‘That would be amazing, because then I could have everybody that I want around me.
‘All I really want at Christmas is to chill out with the family, eat loads and not worry about putting on weight!’
Hear, hear, Kéllé!
