zeroheight’s Holiday Spotlight 2023

We wanted to find out more about how the zeroheight team celebrates the holidays! We asked them to share some of their favorite traditions and memories 😊

How do you celebrate the holidays?

“I celebrate Christmas. I would usually celebrate with my wife and other family members, as well as some friends who don’t have close family in the UK. Usually, we will kick off with a Christmas lunch with smoked beef rib and all the trimmings. We’ll then play board or card games where whoever loses must let the other players draw on their faces. When we’re hungry again, we then have hotpot and wrap up the evening after that!”

“Mostly chilled, family time, lots of food, lots of baileys, and spoiling those I love!”

What traditions or rituals are important to you during the holiday season?

“I love cooking and gathering – so fancy meals that I took all to prep and bake – those are important to me. I also enjoy hanging out with our nieces during the holidays – it makes it way more fun!”

“Listening to Christmas songs on Christmas eve, whilst eating canapes, drinking wine and prepping for the cook on Christmas day.”

“Growing up with both Chinese and Japanese cultures includes some overlaps and differences, especially around the new year. Before the new year, both cultures try to tidy their homes to “get rid of” the old year. It’s bad luck to clean on New Year’s Day – you’re cleaning away the good luck. My mom, who’s Japanese, says what you do and how you behave on the first day of the new year is how you’ll be for the rest of the year. My dad, who’s Chinese, says it’s bad luck to eat apples or get a haircut for two weeks. The Chinese rituals resurface for the Lunar New Year, too. Keeping track of it all can get pretty stressful, but over the years, I’ve aimed to do my best, and it feels like things have worked out.”🤞

What role does food play in your holiday celebrations?

“Huge! It’s the one time of year it’s acceptable to drink a mimosa at 10.30am and eat chocolate for breakfast.”

Are there any specific decorations or symbols that hold special meaning for you during the holidays?

“About eight years ago, I started my own collection of decorations for our tree. Every now and then, just picking up something meaningful or that would match – watching it slowly get more meaningful over the years has become special.”

“We would always have a Christmas tree up, just because it makes the house feel more festive.”

What are some of your favorite holiday memories?

“I have two sisters. Every Christmas Eve, we would all sleep in the same bed together and giggle throughout the night. In the morning, we were not allowed downstairs until my grandma was down, sat and had her coffee. We would sit at the top of the stairs and basically heckle my parents until they gave us the okay to come down. We would rush down to gifts, warm breakfast, and a day full of fun.”

“We have 3 Maltese dogs and sometimes dress them up in festive clothes. One of them got a little chubby one year, and his Santa outfit just about fit him. We couldn’t close it, so he had his chest popping out of his little outfit.”

“As a child, me and my brother would wake up at the crack of dawn, and one of us would wake the other up by taking our stocking to the other’s room. We’d open them together whilst our parents slept and eat chocolate coins until it was an appropriate time to wake them!! We had the whole ‘Has he been?’ tradition. Me and my brother would have to sit at the top of the stairs whilst my Dad went to ‘check’ that he had indeed been. But he would always do one last bathroom dash whilst my brother and I were just itching to get downstairs and open presents. I don’t really remember any of the gifts I ever got as a child, bar a couple, but I remember the agonizing wait to run down the stairs and peek over the sofa (Father Christmas would always leave our ‘main’ present behind there) and then we’d take it in turns one by one to open a gift each, whilst of course my Mum sat with the huge bin liner clearing all the paper as we went.”