12 days of what Christmas means to me: Jack Baldassari, kid and huge festive fan

As part of our 12 days of what Christmas means to me series, we meet Jack Baldassari, a teenager who has retained his love of Christmas and is looking forward to a busy few weeks.

For Figtree teenager Jack Baldassari, Christmas is not just one day, it’s a jam-packed season that almost requires a spreadsheet to pull off.

Like most things in his life such as sport, schoolwork and growing vegetables, he gives it his all.

Jack, 13, is an only child living in a shared parenting arrangement with mum, Sharon and dad, Paolo.

“I sleep over with one parent and stay for lunch, then go to the other parent’s house for dinner, then swap over the next year,” he says.

“They only live a suburb apart so it’s no problem, but I’m usually stuffed with food by the end of the day,” he adds.

Jack’s first memory of Christmas, he says, was at the age of three.

“Dad would always put out a plate of dolce focaccia (sweetened bread) and a glass of beer for Santa plus carrots for the reindeers,” he says.

Preparing that cake and ravioli for Christmas lunch is a family tradition on his father’s side that goes back five generations to Italy.

“As a little kid I was a bit wary of Santa because I didn’t like the idea of a crusty old man coming into the house in the middle of the night, so I always closed my door,” says Jack.

Turning 13 has been a big year with starting high school and making new friends, and it has also involved a set of braces, which will take a few of Jack’s favourite foods off the menu.

“My orthodontist told me no chocolate, lollies or pork crackling.

“I think I’ll still have a little bit of crackling because it’s one of my favourite things,” he says defiantly.

“And Mum’s sticky date pudding will be OK because it’s not sticky.”

When asked to explain that, he says “well, it’s just dates with caramel sauce and ice-cream,” he says in a case-closed tone.

Christmas usually starts on the first Saturday in December with choosing a freshly-cut tree at a pop-up tree dealer on the Princess Highway at Unanderra.

“We’ve had some wonky ones over the years but it’s still fun to decorate them,” says Jack.

Over time, the focus has moved from decorating the tree to lighting up the house and garden with a wonderland of lights and a colourful cast of blow-up characters.

It started when Jack was about four when a kindly elderly couple in the street let him do the honours of turning on their lights, which back then were run by electricity.

“We’ve got solar ones and I always love watching them gradually come on as it gets dark,” says Jack.

He and his father spend over a week on the task and it pays off with a steady stream of passing traffic who do more than just stop to admire their work.

“Over the past few years, we’ve had people drop notes into our letter box, thanking us for our efforts to brighten up the street,” says Jack.

When asked if becoming a teenager had diminished his love of Christmas, the answer was an unequivocal “no!”

“I’ll probably get fewer presents, but that’s OK,” he says.

When it came to traditions he would carry over to his own children, the answer was prompt.

“The lights, for sure.”