Toni Street’s family Christmas ‘This will be the best one yet!’

At this time of year, a visit to broadcaster Toni Street’s home feels something like a trip to Santa’s grotto. Giant inflatable Christmas trees and reindeer dance in the breeze at the front of her beachside home on Auckland’s North Shore, fences and trees are lit up by hundreds of glittering fairy lights, and solar-powered candy canes light the path to the front door, where a vintage post box sits for neighbourhood children to send their letters to the North Pole.

On the door hangs a magnificent wreath and carols can be heard blaring inside pretty much around the clock. One almost expects to be greeted by the big man himself, but no, it’s Toni who opens the door to welcome The Weekly in and it’s she who is responsible for this extreme take on Christmas. Not even the most committed Grinch could fail to be charmed by her enthusiasm for the season.

“People must think I’m totally bananas,” laughs the Coast radio star as she gives us a tour. Pointing to a corner of her lounge where snow-dusted hedgehogs, mice, polar bears and a family of deer are artfully placed, Toni explains, “There’s the winter wonderland section.”

Next stop is her collection of musical scenes displayed on the hallway table – a vintage toy shop with elves busily going about their work, miniature ice-skaters whizzing around a frozen lake and

a vintage train chugging its way along a railway track to cheery Christmas music.

In another corner sits an enormous sparkling bauble and above it hangs an imposing reindeer’s head. “Isn’t it hilarious?!” she laughs, admitting the head isn’t her most classy Christmas acquisition. “The kids love it, though, so we had to put it up.”

Green foliage is wrapped around banisters and trailed across every surface, there’s a collection of festive snow globes dotted on shelves, and in pride of place at either end of the house stand two magnificent Christmas trees. One is an artificial tree, which is Toni’s pride and joy, carefully decorated herself with a colour scheme of gold and silver. The other one, a towering 2m-tall real tree, has been enthusiastically decorated by Toni and her husband Matt France’s three children, Juliette, 10, Mackenzie, seven, and Lachie, four.

“Having two trees is ideal for me because I can be particular about my perfect one and the kids can go crazy on theirs,” says Toni, who admits she thrives off this busy time of year. It might be hectic juggling work, school and kids’ activities with Christmas shopping and preparation for the big day, but Toni wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I actually kind of like all the stress and the running around because there’s such a buzz. The kids are so excited about the end of school, work feels different because everyone’s counting down to the holidays, you get a million different invites to fun things, there’s the end-of-school assemblies and prize-giving events… It’s that hustle and bustle. It’s such a vibe.”

Toni’s unapologetic about her love of Christmas, citing research that shows people who put their decorations up early are happier and more positive. Toni’s eight boxes of festive cheer are dragged out in mid-November, a tradition her mum Wendy started when her children were growing up on the family farm in Taranaki.

“Putting the decorations up was always such a special moment of the year when I was a kid,” remembers Toni, 39. “Mum made a big deal of it. There would be carols cranking and loads of excitement. It’s that idea of spreading a little joy. I love it.”

And she loves that she’s passed on the joy of the season to her children. “The kids adore Christmas and they all still fully believe in everything that goes with it, which is wonderful. I hope they keep

holding onto that magic for as long as possible. Why would you burst that bubble? Lachie has just hit that age where Christmas is the most exciting thing ever.”

While Toni and her siblings would choose a Santa Bear from Farmers each year, her riff on the tradition is to take her three shopping to choose a decoration each for the tree. She loves seeing their choices.

“It’s such an insight into their personalities,” says Toni. “Juliette always goes for the ugliest one she can find because she thinks that’s hilarious, Mackenzie finds something super-girly like ballerina shoes and Lachie is a real mixed bag. I never know what he’s going to choose. This year, they all went for Care Bear decorations, but that caused a fight because no one wanted Grumpy Bear. I think Lachie ended up with it, the poor boy.”

While every Christmas is special for this close-knit family, this year’s celebration will be particularly poignant as all 25 members of Toni and Matt’s extended family will come together for the first time in years. There will be Toni’s beloved parents Wendy and Geoff, younger sister Kirsty and her husband Richard, their two-year-old William and adorable new arrival Amelia, who was born just days after our gorgeous photo shoot.

Matt’s mum Mary will travel up from Christchurch, and his Canterbury-based brother Nick, his wife Penny and their children, Blaise, 14, Sylvie, 12, and twins Jack and Violet, 10, will be there too. Most excitingly, Matt’s British-based sister Claire, her husband Liam and their daughter Ava, six, are flying home for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

“We haven’t seen them for three years, so we really want to make Christmas special for them, particularly for Ava because she doesn’t get to see her cousins very often,” smiles Toni. “It’s going to

be a pretty awesome reunion. It’ll be the first time we’ve ever had all the people we love together on Christmas Day. It’s very exciting.”

And Toni isn’t the least bit stressed about catering for so many. In fact, she loves nothing more than spending the day in the kitchen, glass of wine in hand, masterminding the menu she’s spent months planning. Christmas Day will start with a Champagne breakfast and presents, before a late, long lunch on trestle tables set up outside on the deck.

“It’ll be a traditional dinner with turkey, crispy spuds, roasted veges, Yorkshire puddings, gravy and all the trimmings,” says Toni. “But we’ll have some modern twists too. I’ve ordered platters of prawn cocktail from a local deli, a side of salmon and huge bowls of salads to add to the Christmas table.

“I’ve decided to take some of the stress off myself by outsourcing some of it. You get more sensible with these things. Other times, I’ve had to recover for three days after doing Christmas, but what’s the point in that?”

Toni is really pushing the boat out with dessert, with plans for a trifle, homemade pavlova and a “hula pie” inspired by an ice-cream dish she tried in Hawaii, which she describes as “the best dessert I’ve ever eaten”. There will also be Toni’s famous whiskey Crunchie bar ice cream and DIY pavlovas. “I’ll make mini pavs for everyone and put all the toppings in the middle of the table. The kids will love it.”

Traditions are what makes this time of year so special, tells Toni. As a child, she would always go to midnight mass at the family’s local church, a memory she treasures. The radio star takes her own family to a children’s service on Christmas Eve too. Before bed, Juliette, Mackenzie and Lachie will put on matching festive PJs, and leave out cookies, milk and beer for Santa, plus carrots for the reindeer, of course. Christmas movies will be playing on the TV and stockings will hang at the end of the children’s beds, just as they did when Toni was a kid.

Childhood loss

Toni says it’s impossible to think of Christmases past without her mind turning to her brother Stephen, who died at age 14 in a tragic farm bike accident. Toni was 18 and his loss is still deeply painful.

“I had 14 Christmases with my brother, so for him to suddenly not be there was incredibly hard. He is such a big part of my childhood memories. It was him who I would tear open my stocking with on Christmas morning and together we would stare out the window waiting for Dad to get home from milking the cows so we could open the rest of our presents. We miss him all the time, but at times like Christmas, it’s especially hard.”

And when the family sits down to toast Christmas on December 25, there’s no doubt they’ll think of Stephen, as well as Toni’s other lost siblings: Tracy, who died as a newborn, and her twin brother Lance, who lost his battle with cancer at 18 months old. As Toni wrote in her bestselling memoir Lost And Found, grief has “a habit of gate-crashing special occasions”.

“There’s no way of avoiding the sadness that creeps in,” says Toni. “I know I’ll look across the table at some point and see Mum getting teary. It happens every year because you can’t help but think of the people who should be there.

“But at the same time, it’s a day of such joy because there’s so much magic and excitement for the kids. Christmas, for me, is about family. It’s about spending time with the people you love, and remembering to actually take a moment to be grateful for them and for all we have. This year, more than ever before, with so much going on in the world, we feel so fortunate and so grateful to live in this amazing little country. Having all the people you love in one room feels so much more important than all the tangible stuff.”

And it’s this attitude that means instead of striving for perfection, she will be taking a more relaxed approach to hosting on Christmas Day. “Something will go wrong – it always does – but that’s okay. It just adds to the fun.”

Last year, Toni left her pavlova in the oven to cool, but “someone” turned the oven on without checking inside first. Who was the someone, we ask?

“Um, my mother-in-law,” laughs Toni. “But it’s okay – we’ve moved on! The thing with Christmas is you have to go into it with a relaxed vibe. If you’re obsessed with everything being perfect or going to plan, you won’t enjoy it. It really is just about everyone being together and enjoying themselves. If you want to lie on my couch after lunch and have a sleep, go for it! Or if you want to go down to the beach, play some cricket and drink a few more beers, that’s cool too.”

Toni’s first drink on Christmas Day will be all the sweeter given she will have come to the end of a gruelling health and fitness challenge. The star found herself feeling sluggish and unmotivated earlier this year, so she decided to prepare for summer by committing to six weeks of daily F45 workouts, plus cutting out sugar, carbs and booze. She’s honest about wanting to feel more confident in her togs, but she also knows she’ll feel better within herself too. Keeping up with her kids is a huge motivator.

“I think I had a bit of a Covid hangover,” she explains. “I was drinking too much, not making the best food choices, and I’d put on weight and got into unhealthy habits. I needed to snap myself out of that and have a reset. I want to fit my clothes properly, but I also want to be fit and healthy. When I’m not feeling fit, life just feels harder. I want to be able to partake with the 10-year-olds in my netball team and keep up with them, rather than being the old duck struggling to make it up the hill!”

With Matt, a strategic partnership manager at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, also in on the challenge, Toni says it helps having his support. “I have already lost a few kilos, I’m getting fitter too. I feel like my skin is clearer and I’m sleeping better. I’m in a good rhythm now.”

A present mum

It’s being part of her children’s lives that Toni values the most. While her daily 4am alarm for her morning radio job on Coast Breakfast, which she presents alongside Sam Wallace and Jason Reeves, is most people’s idea of hell, for Toni, it means she can be present for her children. Home by lunchtime most days, she’s able to be at the school gate and kindy pick-ups, coach the girls’ sports teams and be an active part of their daily lives.

“There is seriously not a day that goes by where I don’t say to Matt, my mum or whoever will listen how lucky I am that I get to do a large portion of my work day while my children are still asleep. I am so, so fortunate that I can be there for their activities and sports, and I don’t miss out on much at all. I’m able to do the job I love while still being a very involved and active mother, and I am incredibly grateful for that.”

She’s recently become a “stage mom” with Juliette and Mackenzie taking part in National Youth Theatre shows. “That’s been such fun,” she enthuses. “They both have the performing bug.”

And proving she does absolutely nothing by halves, Toni is now running off-season training sessions for Juliette’s netball team. While most coaches would hang up their whistles over the summer, not this one.

“I know it sounds a bit keen, but I actually love it – it’s like a giant playdate for the girls. We pump the music up, go to the beach, have a swim together and run around. It’s easier to be active with your kids than to try to work out separately to them. I want to keep up with my kids. That’s super- important to me.”

Toni describes the year that’s been as a “steady and positive” one. With no lockdowns, the children were able to get into a good routine and they all enjoyed a wonderful family holiday in Noosa, Australia. “Life finally felt like it was back to normal,” she says.

Their summer break will be spent with friends and family, with a couple of weeks in Taranaki after Christmas. While they usually rent a bach in the Coromandel in January, this year, they’ve decided to stay at home and make the most of the new swimming pool they’ve recently installed. “The kids are so excited about finally getting in the water, so we thought we’d stay put in January and enjoy being at home together.”

And as she looks ahead to 2023, Toni can’t quite believe her youngest child Lachie – who was born via surrogacy in 2018, thanks to the generosity of her best friend Sophie Braggins – will be starting school. She and Matt will both also celebrate their 40th birthdays, and Juliette will be in her final year of primary school.

Life is good, says Toni, and she’s determined to make the most of every moment.

“I’m at the stage of my life where I take nothing for granted. I treasure what I have because I know how quickly things can change.”