Where Ileana D’Cruz is spending Christmas and with who

Ileana D’Cruz, is spending  this Christmas with boyfriend, Australian photographer-actor Andrew Kneebone and his family in Melbourne. She tells us why the season is so special for her...

How do you celebrate Christmas?

Christmas has to be the most loved holiday in our family. It’s all about sweets and presents and decorations and fairy lights! For me, Christmas has always been magical! It’s time with family, lots of laughing, talking and eating.

Is this something you had thought about or made plans about in advance?

Christmas was something my superwoman mama always handled! She had the sweets, decor, and presents all sorted. We as kids always helped with making sweets. I remember making marzipan, kulkuls, chocolates with different flavours, cakes. It was sugar heaven.

How are you celebrating Christmas this year?

This year I’m in Melbourne away from the rest of the family and celebrating Christmas in the summer!

Who are you going to kiss under the mistletoe this year?

Andrew, even if he forgets to get the mistletoe!

Did you believe in Santa Claus as a kid?

Yes! I almost got into a fight with a school mate who insisted Santa Claus wasn’t real. Let’s just say I ended up crying my eyes out all the way home (laughs).

Who’s the one person you consider Santa Claus in your life?

Oh, that has to be my parents. Hands down the best Santa Claus ever! Every time I wrote my note to Santa as a kid, they somehow managed to always get me what I wanted. They made every single year so memorable and happy.

Considering you are a girl who has everything, what gift would you want to find in your stocking this Christmas?

I don’t know if I have everything! I am lucky though with the things I do own. I actually don’t have a wishlist this Christmas. Material possessions only go so far to make you happy. The only thing I really do want is for my whole family to be together this Christmas, but since that can’t happen I’ll be looking forward to spending next Christmas with them.

You have often worn red — at the airport and also at other places. Is red one of your favourite colours?

I love red. It’s such a beautiful colour. For me it signifies lots of things. Passion, love, happiness and of course, Christmas. I think red also looks lovely on a woman so it’s no wonder why I wear read as often as possible.

Your favourite Christmas memory?

It has to be last Christmas when the whole family got together and we got a place by the sea side and spent the holiday cooking together, playing board games, drinking beer and cider and just being a loud, happy family.

Your favourite Christmas movies to watch on the Eve?

Home Alone Part 1 is a kiddie classic for me. But I love Love Actually and The Holiday.

What are you fav Christmas foods? Do you indulge yourself?

I love to cook. I indulge a little bit during Christmas, but definitely not as much as I did as a kid. It’s become sort of a tradition for me to make creme brûlée during Christmas now so I’ll be making a batch, for sure.

A crazy wish you asked Santa for as a child?

I remember I saw this gorgeous mermaid Barbie in a foreign kids toys magazine. And I decided to ask for not one, but two. One for me and one to please a friend from school as well! Little did I know that my parents were going to be stumped because there were no such dolls available in India at the time.

Any Christmas ritual you followed as a kid?

We were always sent to bed before midnight on Christmas Eve as kids because Santa obviously doesn’t deliver presents unless we were sleeping. But I always ended up waking up before anyone else on Christmas Day just so I could sneak up to the Christmas tree to see how many presents were kept for me under it.

One Christmas miracle you’re praying for?

For the brutality around the world to stop. For peace. Life is too short to treat someone with hate. There’s no point in violence.