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‘I just want to see friends and family in more casual settings this year ’

My Christmas: Aimée

Aimée: ‘When I was 12, my mam and dad got me my first guitar. It kickstarted songwriting for me.’

Shilpa Ganatra's face
Shilpa Ganatra
Sat Dec 11 2021 - 00:00

How big are you going on Christmas this year?
Big, when it comes to decorations and gifts. Normally, I'd be planning loads of nights out, but I just want to see friends and family in more casual settings this year.

What decorations do you go for?
My mam always kept decorations silver and white. She passed away three years ago and handed the reins over to me, so I keep that alive and I love it.

Best and worst Christmas films?
My favourite has to be Elf because Will Ferrell's one of my favourite actors – he's so funny. The worst film is The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I haven't actually seen. If it's not fun, I won't watch it. Christmas is only for laughing.

Best Christmas present?
When I was 12, my mam and dad got me my first guitar. It kickstarted songwriting for me. Until then, I used to write songs over instrumental karaoke tracks.

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What's on your wish list?
I feel I'm at the age when it's going to get more and more boring. Last year I got a food processor, and the year before that I got a neck massager. At the moment, I'm obsessed with everything skincare at the moment, so I'll say that.

Favourite part of the Christmas meal?
The stuffing. I started off making it for myself because I was vegan but the whole family ended up loving it, so it's my job to make it every year. My secret to cooking is that if a recipe says to add two cloves of garlic, I add eight.

What's the most irritating thing about Christmas?
As kids, our mam always drilled into us that "Santa goes to all the kids but he can't give the same stuff to every kid", so we were never allowed to go into school with our Christmas toys or tell everyone what we got. So it annoys me when I see people upload lavish pictures of their room filled with toys for their kids, because you have to think of those that can only barely afford to give their kid one toy.

What's on your Christmas jumper?
I don't have a Christmas jumper yet but I normally go for stupid, cheesy Christmas jumpers. I did see one for this year, which was a play on "Santa's little helper" but with the words "Santa's number one bitch".

Aimée’s latest single Just A Phase is out now

Christmas