A mum who packed up her kids to leave the UK behind due to rising costs says they are now unable to go back for Christmas to see their family.
Billie Van Der Walt has been left “heartbroken”.
The 36-year-old and her husband, Selwyn, also 36, from Atherton, Greater Manchester, are currently travelling with their two little ones.
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While it may seem like a privileged problem, the pair actually chose to ditch Britain because jetting across the globe was cheaper than maintaining their life back in Ole Blighty.
But they had hoped to head home in December for a roast and to see loved ones.
Sadly, flights are just too pricey.
“When I was looking for an apartment to stay in over Christmas, my only focus was if there was an oven,” she told What’s The Jam.
“I just want to have a roast dinner, as it’s British tradition – which sounds a bit ridiculous.
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“But alas, I’ve not been able to find one, so it’ll be whatever I can whip up in a microwave or frying pan.
“Maybe I’ll have to pop a few chicken breasts in an air fryer and hope it’ll transport me back to the UK.”
Billie, her husband Selwyn and their two kids, Bligh, four, and Rothko, two, gave up their jobs and home to hit the road in June 2025.
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Since then, they’ve been to Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Abu Dhabi and most recently, China.
Their next stop is Northern Thailand, and while they’ll try to keep Western Christmas traditions alive during their time there, it’s proving to be a tricky task.
Especially, when they’ve got older family members at home who will be spending the festive season entirely alone.
She said: “I must admit, I had a wobble and was looking at flights home for Christmas.
“It just hit us and made us really sad.
“We’ve got family in England, and it’ll be their first Christmas completely alone without us.
“There’s usually my great uncle at home – but he passed away in January.
“And my aunty and uncle, who are like a nan and grandad to the boys, will be spending the holiday without any other family around.
“It’s just not going to be a great Christmas for them, really; they aren’t even putting up any decorations.
“The heartstrings have been well and truly tugged.
“But when we sat down and weighed everything up, it just didn’t make sense to fly home for essentially one day.
“It’s not possible to make it worthwhile for us, but we’ll aim to pop home for a few weeks next year and will no doubt have a spontaneous, makeshift Christmas Day in summer.
“There’s so much pressure on Christmas, especially with trying to see everybody, and that always falls on us.
“So it’ll be celebrated over video call this year, and we’ll somehow try to make the magic for the kids while in Thailand.
“It’s going to be different for sure, but we’ll make it work – even without the snow and trips to Lapland.”
To keep the festive magic alive, Billie has ordered a selection of Christmas decorations to hang up in their rented apartment – including the kids’ original stockings from home.
She said: “It’s crazy the things you do for your kids.
“But it has to be done.
“We’ve pre-warned the boys that Father Christmas will be leaving some gifts for them back in England with nan and grandad instead, so we don’t have to lug them around with us.”
In March, they’ll be jetting back to the UK to celebrate another tradition of theirs.
For Bligh’s birthday, the whole family go to Centre Parcs; with Billie’s brood making the 12,000-mile round-trip to ensure that’s still the case.
For now, though, they’re looking forward to continuing on their travels and making memories.
She added: “We’re planning on meeting up with a couple of other travel families in Chiang Mai.
“There’s a lot of expat families there compared to China, where we’ve felt a little bit isolated.
“We want Christmas to be more about the boys socialising and finding new friends, as well as doing festive activities.
“And it’s something they wouldn’t get to do back in the UK; so I think, despite the heartbreak, our choice to keep travelling is the right one.”
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