Christmas with the stars IT'S GOING TO BE A CRACKER!

How some Kiwi celebrities are bringing a magical sparkle to their homes

Melissa Chan-Green

It’s been looking a lot like Christmas in Melissa Chan-Green’s home since, well, the first weekend of November.

It wasn’t entirely intentional, though. Her four-year-old son Busby was sick, so the popular AM host seized the opportunity to crank up the carols and decorate the tree while they were stuck at home.

“I’m trying to be less of a control freak about where the decorations are placed,” laughs the mum of two. “If they’re all on one side of the tree or bunched at the bottom, I remind myself, ‘It’s okay.’ Our tree decorations are things we’ve picked up from our travels or have a personal meaning, so it’s like putting up a memory.

“Busby’s favourite is a dinosaur that we got from the Natural History Museum in London, when he met his UK grandparents for the first time last Christmas.

“I also just bought a new decoration for Mabel being born – luckily, at six months old, she can’t reach the tree yet – and we have a new star at the top of the tree that says ‘Green Family Christmas.’ I’ve learned to buy ones that are unbreakable.”

Year-round, her gentle-natured son often asks his mum to sing Silent Night whenever he can’t get to sleep.

“So at least at Christmas time, it feels more appropriate! I don’t know whether to be flattered that he likes me to sing or if my rendition is so boring that’s why it helps him get to sleep!”