Table of contents for Christmas 2016 in Country Style

“There are brumbies in the hills up the back and platypus in the creek...” I’m there in my imagination immediately. Luckily for the Harpham family, this magical land really does exist and its name is Moorabinda, a 4008-hectare property in the Dumaresq Valley west of Tenterfield, on the NSW–Queensland border. “This is a really special place. It’s the peace and the freedom. The not-hearing anything at night. It’s knowing that whoever comes to your house is going to be your friend,” is how Julia Harpham described her home to her neighbour, and our writer, Annabelle Hickson. It’s also a place that has seen many wonderful family Christmases over the years, as you can see on page 42. We asked several well-known Australians to tell us their favourite Christmas memories with…

“ I HAVE THE SAME RULE FOR BIRTHDAYS AS I DO FOR CHRISTMAS... A BALLOON, CAKE AND BUBBLES.”  Eurly Haslam-Coates does not do celebrations without a glass of sparkling. “No, definitely not. Why bother?” she asks, as if you’d just suggested she sweep the vineyard. So it stands to reason that bubbles feature centre stage in Curly’s Christmas. “I have the same rule for birthdays as I do for Christmas: there’s got to be a balloon, cake and bubbles.” For most of us, that’s just where our love for sparkling wine would begin and end. But for British-born Curly, it’s also her business. After moving to Launceston, Tasmania, from York in northern England in 2010, she started Vintage Tasmania in 2012. Promoting a passionate enthusiasm for Tasmanian sparkling wine,…

 For Tracie Ellis, Christmas is a special time that she always looks forward to. As someone who, whatever the season, loves nothing more than preparing delicious food for a house full of family and friends, for the past four years Tracie — founder and creative director of the bedlinen company AURA by Tracie Ellis — and her husband David have gathered with their nearest and dearest at their weekend country home, the grand old Ellis House in the township of Kyneton. Since coming to Kyneton, Tracie and David have discovered there’s a lot to love about this rural town and its community, 90 kilometres northwest of Melbourne. “I love all the interesting, creative people, the restaurants and local produce, the lovely gardens and the fact that there’s so much…

 For more Christmas decorating ideas, go to homelife.com.au…

For us, Christmas starts on the first day of December when the advent calendar — 25 little bags that I sewed from bright red raw silk and pegged to a string 10 years ago — is strung up across a big window and the tree is lugged in. The boxes filled with our decorations — some of them now 40 or more years old — are fetched from the old milk vat in the dairy, and the ritual of hanging them begins; bubbly all round and arguments about what goes where and whose side of the tree looks the best are compulsory. That first night, with the fairy lights on, is the best. December 1st is also when I start thinking about what we’ll eat on Christmas Day. It’s time…

MEET THE PRODUCERS Beth and Hayden McMillan, Burrawong Gaian, Barraganyatti, NSW Come Christmas Day, Beth and Hayden McMillan have a choice of birds for their celebratory table: chicken, duck (Pekin and Muscovy), guineafowl or goose. They started rearing poultry in 2009 because they no longer wanted to eat factory-farmed birds, and when they found themselves with too many ducks to use, they began offering them to friends. “You know how it goes,” says Beth. “One thing leads to another.” It wasn’t long before they were selling their Humane Choice-certified birds to top chefs; Kylie Kwong, Neil Perry and Shannon Bennett among them. “We’re a little business with a big reach,” says Beth. In 2012, they merged their microbusiness Gaian with a larger, more established brand, Burrawong, and grew much bigger…

1 SIBELLA COURT BYRON BAY, NSW “I have always spent my Christmas on the northern coasts of NSW,” says Sydney-based stylist, author and founder of The Society Inc, Sibella Court. “Growing up, we spent every holiday with my grandparents at Smiths Lake, exploring the bush, checking the surf on every beach and hunting for cicadas. I have so many fond memories of sailing, late-night prawning and fishing on the lake, and seeking out wild orchids for my flower press.” Today, Sibella continues the tradition with her own family, her three-year-old daughter, Silver, and her partner Ben Harper, heading north to spend alternate Christmases with Ben’s family in Coopers Shoot, then staying on for several weeks in Byron Bay. Sibella’s Christmas must-haves include rosé, sandy feet and salty hair — and…

1. Margaret Flockton: A Fragrant Memory by Louise Wilson (Wakefield Press, $49.95). Largely forgotten since her death in 1953, this well-paced biography reveals the life of Australia’s first botanical artist, who arrived here from England in 1894. 2. Things My Garden Taught Me by Gabrielle Baldwin (Wakefield Press, $34.95). Starting a native garden in South Gippsland has schooled this author in much more than just plants, and her account of success, failure and fear of snakes is sure to resonate. 3. Lives of the Great Gardeners by Stephen Anderton (Thames & Hudson, $60). Anderton is an award-winning UK garden journalist and this book — which profiles 40 of the world’s most influential gardeners, categorised by their overarching style principle — showcases his flair for mixing historical detail with warmth and…

GUY BAILEY Located in our Sydney studio, this talented photographer took the images for our gift guide, page 115 . Come December school holidays, Sydney-based photographer Guy heads north to the Gold Coast with his wife and four children. “It’s perfect for a summer Christmas with plenty of pool and beach action for the kids,” he says. Woolgoolga, on the mid-north coast of NSW, is second in line. “It’s such a beautiful little country town, totally unspoiled by the usual crowds and nice and close to Bellingen, which is another favourite.” This month, Guy, who loves the collaborative aspect of shooting, worked with stylist Anna Delprat on our eight-page gift guide. “Anna always brings good ideas, beautiful props and a great energy,” he says. “Wonderful fun to work with.”…

 he tall, bleached grass waves in the wind on the hills, the horses gallop across the river flats below and on a grassy plateau, just visible through a flock of grazing sheep, sits a charming weatherboard farmhouse where Julia Harpham, who has known this valley all her life, is getting ready for Christmas. She’s washed her mother’s old embroidered white napkins and hung them on the Hills Hoist to dry. It’ll only take a few minutes in the summer heat. The cold room is stacked with Champagne and her husband Philip has cut down a pine tree and brought it down from the hills into the living room next to the kitchen. Soon their three children — all now grown up with wives and husbands of their own — and…

For painter and stylist Irene de Klerk Wolters and her family, Christmas is all about spending time together at their home in Denmark, and creating memories for the children. There is a gentle feel to the place, which, for the season, is decorated with beautiful displays of evergreens, clusters of candles or old toys reflecting the authentic part of Christmas. The Dutch family of four live in Copenhagen in the much sought- after neighbourhood of Østerbro, and they love its peaceful ambience and closeness to the city centre. “This area is full of beautiful parks, shops, small coffee shops and, at the same time, is close to the sea, where I enjoy going for a morning swim,” says Irene. The home’s Christmas decorations show the possibilities of creating a dynamic…

IN MY OPINION, the 1998 Australian movie Crackers, starring the late Warren Mitchell, included one of the best Christmas lunch scenes captured on film. Amongst the chaos of the day, the frantic cooking and the inevitable family fissions, the scene that sticks with me is when one of the protagonists fumigates the dining room with clouds of Mortein, leaving everyone present gasping for breath and stumbling outside in need of fresh air. Now, I can relate to this scenario, but the Cumpers were a Pea Beu family. (This dyed-in-the-wool brand loyalty is not unlike the Holden versus Ford rivalry or the Collingwood versus Richmond feud, in that you find yourself born onto one side or the other.) During my childhood, it seemed like it wasn’t Christmas without the fragrance of…

CHRISTMAS IS A time for tradition and, each December, Kaye Smith and her husband Allan buy Kaye’s 90-year-old mother, Joan Wyvill, a Lions Christmas cake. “We give her a 1.5kg cake each year and we usually manage to have a slice and a cup of tea with her,” says Kaye, who lives in Murrumba Downs, half an hour north of Brisbane in Queensland’s Moreton Bay region. “When my cousins come to visit for morning or afternoon tea, she’ll have more ready.” Kaye has a special affinity for Lions’ dark, fruit-rich Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, having just started her second three-year term as the organisation’s Christmas Cake and Mint chairman. The 64-year-old is a 21-year veteran of Lions Australia; husband Allan, also 64, has been a member for 36 years.…

If you believe that the right book at the right moment in a child’s life is a magic carpet to undiscovered realms or if you’re looking for the perfect gift for older members of the family and friends, there’s a book for everyone. I’LL START WITH PRESENTS FOR CHILDREN I asked Gleebooks children’s books manager Lynndy Bennett to guide me to books that have something different to offer. WILD ANIMALS OF THE NORTH Dieter Braun, Flying Eye Books, $40 The art is electrifying. I’ve seen nothing like it before. I bought this for my great-great-niece, but it’s going to be hard to part with. Did you know that a puma can jump five metres upwards from a standing position or that the nest of the bald eagle can weigh more…

“A fantastic reminder to stress less... and enjoy the simple things.” INSTAGRAM Sarah and Josh Curry’s farm in Quandialla proved to be very popular, inspiring our followers to dream of their own country escape. Photography Brigid Arnott. This story was really inspiring @carlacram Makes me want to sell up and buy a farm NOW! @j_toohey86 My idea of heaven! @renae6168 Dream home @sixeightshuffle Economic lawnmowers. What a beautiful setting @davieslea Follow us on Instagram @countrystylemag SOCIAL Our October cover on Facebook and Instagram. Photography Lisa Cohen. Styling Tess Newman-Morris. Perfection @ thesocialagency Lovely cover, something to look forward to buying tomorrow. One of life’s little pleasures. Julie Honeysett Fantastic cover! Beautiful! @ meredithandcoaus ASPIRATIONS Hook, line and sinker — you’ve got me! As a new reader to Country Style, in…

“That smell of cypress or pine needles really reminds me of Christmas.” BINDI IRWIN Television presenter, actress and conservationist Beerwah, Queensland “Our last Christmas with Dad [the late wildlife expert and conservationist Steve Irwin] was in 2005 and we spent it on our conservation property Mourachan in south-western Queensland — it’s a beautiful, big property where we protect pythons and kangaroos. Myself, Dad, Mum and my brother Robert all went out to spend Christmas Day there. Santa hid the presents on top of the roof — apparently he couldn’t fit them inside the homestead because it was so tiny — so we had to climb up onto the roof with Dad to try and get my brand new bicycle down! Dad made a huge curry for lunch as he was…

For all the memorable Christmas rituals of her childhood, says designer Alischa Herrmann, it was the art of wrapping that helped shape her into the person she is today. “Christmas has always been a big deal to my family, led by my mum, Linda,” says the founder of Bespoke Letterpress, a boutique print studio in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands. “To this day, she still hangs our stockings from the mantelpiece with silver stocking holders and sets the table beautifully for lunch. But one of my lasting memories as a child is watching her wrap gifts with lovely paper and lots of ribbon, and seeing how much people valued receiving those exquisitely wrapped presents. I’ve no doubt I inherited my love of stationery and wrapping from her.” Now…

GINGERBREAD SHEEP Makes about 30 1 x quantity gingerbread dough (recipe page 80) black food colouring gel ½ cup shredded coconut ROYAL ICING 4 eggwhites 6 cups pure icing sugar, sifted Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 5 baking trays with baking paper. Working in batches, roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a sheep-shaped cutter, cut out cookies. Re-roll dough trimmings and cut out more cookies. Place cookies on prepared trays. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until just golden around edges. Cool on trays. To make royal icing, using an electric mixer, beat eggwhite until foamy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until a very stiff paste forms. Place 2 tablespoons of icing in a cup and tint with food colouring. Transfer black icing to…

THE EPICUREAN ELEGANT KITCHEN GOODS FOR MASTER CHEFS AND APPRENTICE COOKS. THE CREATOR GIFTS FOR THOSE WHOSE IMAGINATION MAKES THE WORLD THEIR STUDIO. THE ALCHEMIST A BEAUTIFUL SCENT WILL ALWAYS CAPTURE SOMEONE WHO APPRECIATES THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE. THE ADVENTURER LITTLE EXPLORERS OF THE WORLD CAN LET THEIR IMAGINATIONS RUN WILD IN THIS WHIMSICAL GEAR. THE EQUESTRIAN FOR MEMBERS OF THE POLO CLUB OR PONY LOVERS. THE BOTANIST For lovers of nature both indoors and out.…

FREEDOM FIGHTER “I like my gardens to have an air of restrained wildness about them,” writes Michael Cooke in his latest book, Disobedient Gardens (Murdoch Books, $59.99), which details five of his projects, including Valleyfield in the NSW Hunter Valley (pictured). Photography Brigid Arnott. CLASS ACT A short course in botanical illustration makes a great gift idea for gardeners. 19th–22nd JANUARY. ENLARGED FLOWER PORTRAITS, GEELONG, VICTORIA Run by the Friends of Geelong Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art, this four-day intensive workshop will help students with composition and painting techniques. $280 members; $340 non-members. (03) 5222 6053; friendsgbg.org.au 18th FEBRUARY. ILLUSTRATIVE PATTERN MAKING, LAWSON, NSW In this full-day workshop, artist Edith Rewa (pictured) shares the processes behind her illustrations. Includes all materials and lunch in Lyttleton…

COUNTRY STYLE HOMEWARES NSW: SYDNEY Made On Earth (02) 9252 2322 madeonearth.com.au North Rocks Brentwood Interiors (02) 9871 5551 brentwoodinteriors.net.au St Ives Sorrento 0413 980 105 REGIONAL Bangalow Heart of the Home (02) 6687 1399 Berry Candleberries (02) 4464 3487 Goulburn Your Home Matters (02) 4822 7229 Nelson Bay The Home Interior (02) 4984 4888 thehomeinterior.com.au Tamworth The Lemon House 0417 248 359 Yass Comur House (02) 6226 1411 QUEENSLAND: BRISBANE Bulimba Perfect Living (07) 3399 8335 perfectliving.com.au REGIONAL Boyne Island Beach Inspired 0402 783 257 beachinspired.com.au Bundaberg Saskia (07) 4151 1873 facebook.com/SaskiaHomeGiftsYou Noosa Casa Noosa (07) 5447 3722 casanoosainteriors.com.au SOUTH AUSTRALIA: ADELAIDE Brighton Get in 2 The Moose (08) 8298 2995 Glenside Best Wishes (08) 8379 9730 REGIONAL Noarlunga Canopy Home Fashion (08) 8384 2110 Nuriootpa Barossa Nursery (08) 8562 2288 barossanursery.com.au Strathalbyn High Street Trading (08)…

 TRUST ME, READERS, we’ve become plain old traditional country folk: slow, accepting and not given to radical departure. So we’ve spent a bit of time lately deciding what size ham to buy to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus. And to tell you the truth, no, I don’t understand the link either. “THEY MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS A MIRACLE THEN, BUT THERE’S NOTHING VERY CLEVER ABOUT TAPAS THESE DAYS.” Bethlehem also being the birthplace of falafel and fattoush, we should probably have been bending our minds to chickpea and cumin patties and perhaps even cracked green wheat soup. But if we can genetically modify green wheat, I guess we can genetically modify history, too. Food always played a big part in Christianity, even when there wasn’t that much of…