Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Mikaela Armstrong, her husband and their two children, from Melbourne’s Bayside, celebrated Christmas on the December 7 with her husband’s family in Ballarat. “It was a nice way to get the extended family together, which doesn’t happen very often,” she says.LoadingWith family spread across regional Victoria, she says travelling to see everyone on Christmas Day is too far. While early Christmas celebrations require advanced planning for gifts, holiday events throughout the month create a “stress-free occasion,” she says.Although she will still celebrate Christmas Day, it will just be her family of four, eliminating travel time and allowing quality time together.“I know many people who spread out Christmas celebrations to accommodate both sides of the family,” she says.Courtney Babic’s family of seven are among the 12 per cent of Australian families who are blended or stepfamilies. With five children – two daughters from her husband John’s previous marriage, Babic’s two sons, and their shared youngest – the lifestyle influencer from Newcastle in NSW says Christmas is “very much about being flexible”.Although Christmas Day is delayed this year, as John’s daughters will celebrate with their mother, festivities have begun ahead of time.She agrees that celebrations don’t have to be on Christmas Day to make them special – “I think we put that pressure on ourselves to say, well, yes, it has to be on [the] day.”Sydney Fish Markets communications manager Stephanie Margrain says visits and purchases noticeably increase in early December and “continue to climb” through Christmas and New Year’s.However, early Christmas celebrations are not the only factor; people prefer lighter food as the weather warms, year-end festivities increase, and tourism booms, she says.The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
