Kokoro Newsletter
HARTBEAT
December 19th 2025
6 days to go! It's Christmas!
So we've gone out to Kokokers to find out what their favourite little ritual is over the festive period and, as the feast approaches, what the favourite dishes are on the Christmas table!
Jay:
Fave ritual: "Doing Christmas stockings first thing after we wake up"
Fave food: "Honey roast parsnips!"
Emily R:
Fave ritual: "Weird one but for my Christmas dinner starter i'm not a big seafood person so my dad makes me a carrot salad (basically grated carrot, bit of vinegar and bread an butter lol)"
Fave food: "I love a cracker selection, normally cheese and then some peanut butter ones"
Laura:
Fave ritual: "I love the anticipation of Christmas Eve, we always have a big family dinner, play stupid games and open a bottle of champagne, now I’m an auntie at this point I often also am covered in face paint"
Fave food: "Cheese! It’s the only time we have a selection or bake a camembert, perfect for inbetweeny nibbly days"
Becca:
Fave ritual: "Whenever I spend Christmas at home, our town does a Christmas carol singalong on Christmas eve in the high street, so me and my friends always go to that and then the pub afterwards. Very wholesome and always bump into lots of people we know!"
Fave food: "Has got to be pigs in blankets, I've already had a few this year"
Sarah:
Fave ritual: "I'm not one for getting drunk on Christmas Eve, so me and my sister always stay in and wrap the rest of the families presents, with Muppets Christmas Carol in the background, a glass of mulled wine, and a camembert in the oven"
Fave food: "Got to be the christmas stuffing!"
Tom:
Fave ritual: "Definitely watching previous years' Christmas specials in the run up to the big day. The UK office Christmas special, Peep show (“What, no turkey?!...”), that terrifying Black Mirror episode with John Hamm (not the most festive, but a great episode!)
Fave food: "Can I be controversial and say the best part of the dinner is the leftovers the day after which make an epic Boxing Day sandwich? Turkey, stuffing, bacon, bread sauce, cranberry sauce. A few cheeky parsnips if you're really pushing the boat out."
Harry:
Fave ritual: "I host a Christmas quiz for my fam every year, it's usually quite silly yet very competitive. The trophy is treasured year round"
Fave drink: "My brother has this bit where every year he wraps himself a bottle of Baileys and puts it under the tree, amusing himself to no end - secretly hoping he gets the Terry's Chocolate Orange version this year!"
Emma:
Fave ritual: "Singing at the TV when the carols from Kings are on. I absolutely love a carol!"
Fave food: "Party picky snacks after dinner, always room for a sausage roll or 2!"
Anna L:
Fave ritual: "The kids faces when they realise Santa has been - that sense of excitement and anticipation as to what's in the stockings and under the tree is the best"
Fave drink: "Gin"
Molly:
Fave ritual: "Boxing day is my Christmas day really, its a day that everyone in my family get together normally, although this year it'll be smaller but my dad is coming down from Norfolk with my little brother and I'm really excited"
Fave food: "Easy, it’s a trifle"
What's on the box?
We love our Christmas Telly on the Subs team. Nothing's generated buzz quite like Gavin and Stacey this year - but there's still plenty of brilliant things to watch on our radar
Of course, there’s all the usual favourites Call the Midwife and Mrs Browns Boys – plus all the soaps Christmas specials. And you can catch Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman's final ever episode of Strictly Come Dancing on Christmas Day!
Two promising dramas land New Years Day: Run Away another Harlan Coben adaptation from Netflix. Plus a long-awaited (9 years!) sequel to The Night Manager, cast looks good!
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The final instalment of Stranger Things is released in two drops – Boxing Day and New Years Day.
A handful of recognisable faces take part in some well-known shows – can celebs inject some life into the Apprentice? We’ll let you know! More promising looks to be Celebrity Gladiators and Peep Show cast meets Bake Off. Plus, Taskmaster Champion of Champions is out Monday night
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One show not relying on celebrities this time around is Traitors, so soon after the hit celeb version, this ‘civilian’ series is sure to draw an audience – launches on New Years Day.
If silly is your vibe, there’s plenty about – on the must watch list… Amanda and Alan’s Spanish Christmas, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and Amandaland Christmas Special
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For cute, cosy vibes with kids, grandkids and nieces and nephews, there’s a new Julia Donaldson – The Scarecrow’s Wedding
If TV is not your speed, there’s a whole lot of movies dropping over the Christmas period. Wake Up Dead Man (the new Knives Out) is now streaming on Netflix, F1 has found its way to Apple TV, Dune Part 2 is on Sky Cinema along with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Oppenheimer is on BBC 2 on Sunday 21st, Paddington on BBC One on Christmas Eve and Matilda The Musical on Christmas Day
Guess who?: Christmas Tree edition
Finally, we've had fun putting our trees up and taken pride in decorating them, so have fun guessing whose is who's - let us know and be in with a chance of a prize! Simply match the face to the tree...
And that's all folks!
If your Christmas is full of joy, we hope it’s merry. If it feels complicated, awkward, exhausting, or just a bit much, we hope there’s peace in it too. And if you’re missing those no longer here, we’re sending love
