Alice Topp is a dancer in the corps de ballet at The Australian Ballet. After a busy end to 2014 with performances in La Bayadère and The Nutcracker, she is looking forward to putting her feet up!

My Christmas style is: Low maintenance!

It's such a crazy time of year but Christmas for me is all about unwinding and enjoying the precious company of family and friends. I'm performing right up until Christmas in The Australian Ballet's The Nutcracker, a production we opened in Melbourne in September, so I feel like I've been decking the halls and cracking the nuts for a few months now! After roughly 200 shows in 2014, our Christmas break is a great opportunity to put our feet up, return home after a jam-packed year of touring and cherish time spent with loved ones. If I was to define my Christmas style, I'd say it's all about fun prints, florals, colour and movement.



Alice at the front of the 'Kingdom of the shades' scene in La Bayadère.

This year I'll be buying: Mangoes, cider and brooches!

My go-to accessory of the moment would have to be novelty brooches and badges. They jushe up any ensemble, are a great talking point and make for wonderful gifts. My current favourites are the Bowie, Frida Kahlo and Wes Anderson themed numbers from the wonderful Andsmile. I'm also in love with a custom design range of earrings from Etsy shop Sleepy Mountain. This year my friends can expect to receive the Breaking Bad, Seinfeld and Steve Buscemi designs.

My failsafe Christmas styling tip is: Spend less time in shops and more time getting creative!

I always find handmade or recycled wrapping paper, makeshift cards and tags and the use of any art 'n' craft knick-knacks far more exciting when gift-giving! As kids, one of our Christmas activities with Mum was spray painting gum leaves from our garden in metallic gold and silver and using them as gift tags. One year my friend Gabriella gave me a 7 inch record with a super funny title as a Christmas card which I still have up on my mantelpiece. These are the things you remember and hold onto.



This Christmas I'll be serving: I'd like to say my contribution at the family Christmas luncheon will be a smashing summer salad of fresh greens, mango, prawn and coriander with a chilli and lime dressing (my staple salad) but in reality, I'll probably just make a dash to the supermarket and purchase my favourite fruitcake and custard!!



My Christmas playlist includes: The Black Keys, Father John Misty and an array of 80's hits. I've recently been revisiting my collection of 80's and 90's cassette tapes.

All I want for Christmas is: Sleep, sunshine, cricket, friends and family time.

My biggest Christmas disaster was: Thankfully, it has yet to happen!!!

After Christmas I'm planning to: Hit the MCG for the Boxing Day cricket test, catch some sunshine and catch up on any overdue phone calls and letter-writing!

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