he Northern Hemisphere might disagree, but I think we get it right on the south side of the globe. When the jacaranda bursts into clouds of purple and the warbling of magpies competes with the whir of lawn mowers on sunny mornings, we know: Christmas is, with planning for our annual bumper edition starting almost as soon as we farewell winter. Which is why, in the first days of October, our Sydney studio was transformed into a festive tableau for our potluck shoot (p 84). Family is often as much the one you choose as the one you’re born to, and in honour of the many orphan Christmases held in apartments, courtyards and parks across Australia each year, we challenged the team to each bring their best plate. The Champagne flowed and we almost forgot the stylist and photographer floating about as we feasted on each other’s nostalgic holiday dishes. Our Editorial Director Kerrie McCallum’s DIY prawn cocktails were a hit, while Assistant Editor Corinne Parkes gave her nod to the food team’s take on Swedish potato bake, Jansson’s temptation. My Polish devilled eggs didn’t make the final cut (they’re tastier than they look, I swear), but for my spread this year I’ll be adopting our Senior Digital Producer Mark Mariano’s Filipino mango float, a four-ingredient wonder.
