Peter Andre’s wife Emily’s unusual family ritual as she shares plans for baby Arabella’s first Christmas

With the arrival of a new child earlier this year, Peter Andre and his wife Emily gearing up to make it even more special for the Andre family this Christmas.

The couple, who will be celebrating 10 years of marriage next summer, welcomed their baby daughter Arabella in April – a little sister for Amelia, 10, and eight-year-old Theo, plus the trio’s older siblings, Junior, 19, and Princess, 17. Emily, who exclusively speaks to us about Christmas traditions and family customs, reveals that she has a very special holiday holiday plan for Arabella. “It’ll be a Christmas at home for us, a very chilled one”, says Emily, 35. She won’t understand it because it’s their first Christmas, but I’m going to enjoy it because it’s her first, too! She’ll look like a little Christmas pudding, so I’m going to dress her up. I’ve got it all planned”.

NHS doctor Emily and singer Peter, 51, announced the pregnancy in October last year, and told OK! it was their “Christmas wish”. We chat with Emily at London’s Winter Wonderland and ask if she’s keeping her Christmas shopping organized. She admits that the preparation for Christmas has taken a little bit of a hit because having a new baby has thrown a spanner.

“I haven’t started my shopping yet – I need to sort that out”, she confesses. “I’m feeling really festive now, we always wait to get Theo’s birthday done until we start the festivities”.

But when it comes to their family Christmas traditions, Emily, who is also an author and influencer, has it all worked out. Her favourite tradition, she says, involves cutting up old tights. Rebecca, her paediatrician, and Ruaraidh, her surgeon, both taught her the practice.

“It’s my favourite tradition, we do weird stockings, stockings in tights”, she explains. We re-enter the tights after halfing them. We’ve done it since I was a child; we’ve no idea why, but we’re in love.

Because he only began the festivities after becoming a father himself, Christmas customs have come into play an especially significant role for Peter. His parents, Savvas and Thea, raised Peter and his siblings as Jehovah’s Witnesses. The movement doesn’t observe religious holidays like Christmas and Easter, which are typically observed in other Christian religions.

He previously mentioned how Emily has introduced the holiday spirit to the family, saying, “We have many traditions, like Elf On The Shelf, but I have to admit, Emily introduced them. Because I was raised in a very religious family and we didn’t celebrate Christmas, I’m still learning a little bit. Therefore, Emily is in charge of the holiday spirit. Oh, and Santa, of course…”

While Peter doesn’t feel he missed out growing up, because it was all he knew, he said seeing his own children’s delight in the celebrations is wonderful. “Now the kids are going through it, I get to live it through them, and it’s beautiful”, he said. Because it’s their first time, it might even be even more unique.

The run-up to Christmas is a busy time for another special reason, as Theo celebrates his birthday on 22 November. Emily marked the youngster’s eighth birthday with an emotional post on her social media accounts.

Alongside a sweet snap of Theo standing on a beach, she wrote, “My gorgeous boy is 8 today. I’m actually awestruck by how long it has been! Theo, you are the most generous and loving person we could ask for. Love you so much and happy birthday”.

Although the couple chose not to share their youngest three children’s faces on social media, cooking demonstrations and videos about pumpkin carving have recently seen a rise in their family entertainment.

Peter also made a recent joke about the possibility of an Andre family podcast. He went on to explain his off-the-cuff statement on his Instagram page, saying, “We’ve been asked a few times to do one as a family, and I think it might be the right time. This would be fun, even though we are all very busy. Whether it will be just audio or video, we must choose. All the kids will be involved including baby Arabella, so watch this space”.

Source: Mirror