The Hodders are a family of seven, living in Pahiatua. Letitia, 28, and Kody, 32, own a construction and landscaping business and are raising their blended family of five children: Lia, 10, Phoenix, 10, Isaac, 10, Keira, 8, and Charlotte, 6. Laetitia talks to Alix Mahy about how they manage Christmas for a family of seven.
December at the moment feels like I’m going to pull my hair out. With five kids in the home there’s so many events. It’s that crazy time of year when everyone just wants to have a break. But there’s lots to do to be able to actually have a break.
Owning a business is still new for us, we don’t have a weekly pay like we used to. Last year I still had a job so I knew that, even if cash flow was down, I was still earning money from my employment. Waiting for contract payments means juggling cash flow, which comes with a sense of worry. In the background I’ve been thinking about Christmas constantly and when I might be able to actually budget it in.
I think it would be quite shocking to face the truth of how much I actually spend. I’ve got no choice this year but to rein it back a little bit. In the past I’ve probably spent $500 on each kid, then somewhere between $50 and $100 for every other adult. Total spend on presents so far is $2,349.22, with a few things left to get.
My kids haven’t mentioned anything specific that they want but they all want new bikes so that’s something we are going to try and squeeze into the budget. Santa brings stockings. We spend about $50 each on these with small items like bubbles, books, mini puzzles, candy.
We moved earlier this year so we’ve been really excited about having everyone here on Christmas Day. We just do a potluck, we sort out the meat and everyone brings a dish. Because of that, I’d say we spend around $300 on food.
We do a quiet morning with the kids opening presents and then we have a big lunch. We usually have some type of water play, whether that’s a slip-and-slide or a pool. We’ve been lucky with the weather most years, it’s nicer to be outside enjoying the sun with family. We have our fingers crossed it’s good again this year.
We get a free Christmas tree every year from our friend; he brings us a pine tree from his farm, which is amazing. We don’t have a very nicely put together Christmas tree. The kids do the decorations. Covered in whatever baubles we can find.
I reckon a Christmas ham is overrated. It’s just really expensive and there’s definitely cheaper ways you can feed a crowd. Everyone’s happy in New Zealand with a simple barbie.
The kids love doing a secret Santa, a great way for them to learn how to give. We give them $20 each and go to Kmart. We make a day of it. They open their secret Santa presents from each other on Christmas Eve. We have hot chocolate and a Christmas movie with my mum and sisters. Once the kids go to bed we play board games and set up the Santa stuff.
Christmas for me is sitting down on the deck with all the kids running around and chatting while my husband is cooking the barbecue. Having that moment where it’s all done, everyone’s smiling and chatting and happy. That stress is gone, and it feels like summer, that’s Christmas for me.
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