From kids getting Rolexes to blinged up caravan competitions, what Christmas is really like for a traveller
From over the top decorations to young children receiving Rolex watches, a gypsy from Cambridge has revealed the traveller family Christmas traditions.
Chantelle, the stay-at-home gypsy wife, who also refers to herself as the ‘Gypsy Cleaning Queen’, told Fabulous: “Because travellers have big families, they want to go all out for the children.
“Christmas is a big thing in my family. I come from a Christian home.
“When I was little and we lived in a house, my granny and grandad had everyone living under one roof, so my granny would go insane with the decorations and the food.
“My granny had train tracks in the room that you could actually sit on.
“Families will get together and travellers will do things bigger – they always want to go that extra mile.”
When it comes to December 25th, Chantelle revealed that in the gypsy community it is a very busy day and where food is concerned, nothing is done by halves.
She said: “When I was [living] at home, Christmas was very hectic. Everyone gets together. All of the children are there, everyone’s running around. The women are all in the kitchen.”
A festive feast fit for a King
“Gypsy people are always extra when it comes to food. Everything is bigger and better. We have starters, mains, and desserts. And everything is homemade.
“For starters we’d have giant, garlic King prawns, prawn cocktail, or soup. There’s always different options.
“We’d have three or four different meats – gammon, turkey, beef.”
Not only is food in the traveller community on the next level, but the gifts are too.
Chantelle claimed: “With some gypsies, it is more for show. Some gypsies will get their kids Rolexes for Christmas.
“For me, I’m grateful for something small, that’s how I’ve been brought up. But a lot of travellers expect big presents – they expect designer clothes.
“A lot of travellers go to the extreme. I can understand children having earrings and gold bangles, but I’ve seen kids get designer watches.
“One year we got a big giant go kart and bikes and things like that. We got things that we could actually use.
“When you live on a site, the kids would go outside and play with their toys and show all the other children.”
The traveller community spirit
Particularly for gypsies living on a caravan site, according to Chantelle, you can feel the Christmas spirit in the air.
She explained: “One year on the site, my grandad bought a massive marquee and put a hog roast in it with turkeys.
“The whole site got together and did different things. I did the dessert, another woman did the vegetables. And we all had Christmas dinner together on a giant table.
“The children will be playing together and the adults will be talking. It’s an atmosphere you’ll only get if you live on a site.”
When it comes to preparing for the festive season, Chantelle believes it’s never too early to put the decorations up. She said: “I put them decorations up early this year. I wanted it to be extra.
“A lot of people think it’s too early, but I wanted to get the use out of my decorations.
“With travellers, if one person does something, someone else will follow. If one gets a big tree, someone will get two trees. It’s like a competition.
“Travellers will copy one another and try to go the extra mile to be better.
“Each year I’ll add something new. In the little trailer, you couldn’t go overboard because you wouldn’t be able to move.
Christmas decorations everyone – even the bathroom
“Now I’m in the chalet, I’ve got decorations everywhere – I’ve even got Christmas bedding.
“I do want to decorate the bathroom too, but I need to go and buy more stuff. I want to get Santa towels and bath mats. I’ve seen them in The Range.
“I’ve gone all out. I said to my husband ‘I want to buy more, I want to buy loads.’
“My granny laughed and said she couldn’t actually see my tree because of all the decorations, but I like it like that. I like to do things differently. I don’t like to see gaps in a tree.”
Chantelle explained that not only has she gone all out with her Christmas tree, but she’s also decorated her kitchen cupboards, sofas and kitchen stools too.
But for the haters that have criticised Chantelle’s festive pad, she clapped back and explained that she won’t listen.
Travellers will copy one another and try to go the extra mile to be better.
Chantelle
She commented: “I wrapped my stools up to make them look like candy canes. I even wrapped up my kitchen cupboards.
“Some people say that my decorations are a bit extreme. Some people look at my tree and think it’s a bit too much. People have said it’s a bit over the top.
“But a lot of people like my decorations and non-travellers have said that they’re going to copy my tree.
“I wanted to go traditional red. A lot of other travellers have done it and it looks nice.
“I see a lot of people have just one tree with a few baubles on it and that’s it. For me, that’s not enough.
“It took me about two days to put everything up. I did it all myself.”
Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@the-sun.co.uk and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line.