TALK TO ME...
@justine_cullen justinecullen [email protected]28 ELLE AUSTRALIA
I’ve never hidden my unabashed adoration of
the festive season. I’m the woman who starts humming
Christmas carols on November 1, who buys her tree so early
it’s dead and needs replacing by mid-December. I recently
moved to one of those Christmas-lights streets and I’m not
telling if it had anything at all to do with the house or just
that it’s enabled me to live in a home you can see from Mars
on Christmas Eve. And don’t ever tell them, but it’s possible
Santa was one of my primary motivators for having children.
Merge this love of the most deliciously commercial holiday
of the year with an obsession with throwing theme parties,
an extreme attraction to summer and cocktails served
in coconuts, and the anticipation of much-needed
decompression time, and December is clearly my favourite
month of the year. That’s why we were determined to make
this issue full of happiness – starting with the most joyful
cover we’ve ever produced of a human who makes me
laugh like no other (more from me on her on p110), a party
dressing special that insists it’s now okay to wear flats to
a soiree (thank you) and a gift guide full of simply lovely
things (to wrap and share or keep for yourself – we’re not
against a little self-love at this time of year, or any).
It’s with unfortunate irony, however, that I’m writing
this letter on November 9, as the unthinkable is happening.
If it weren’t such a horrific turn of events, it could almost be
wryly considered a fitting end to what has been, for the
world at large, somewhat of an annus horribilis – it’s been
a disheartening, dirty time, and we’ve all lived with
an almost universal sense of uncertainty and even fear.
It seems that everyone I’ve bumped into for the past
couple of months has voiced something along the lines of
wanting 2016 to just be done with already. The good news,
of course, is that it nearly is. And while none of us know
what 2017 is going to look like, today less than ever, it’s
never been more important to end the year with reflection,
hope and gratitude. I hope this issue goes some way to
putting a smile on your face.Love,