It has been a long and exciting year for Youtube beauty vlogger and fresh first time mum, 28 year old, Lindy Tsang. I had a chat with Lindy and her sister and fellow blogger April, talking about Christmas when they grew up and what it means to be a new family during the Holidays.
When Lindy calls me on Skype it is 3:05 pm and I am looking through my interview questions, half worrying if my entire feature has fallen through if I don’t get this interview. “Hi Sweetie! I’m so sorry, I just got back in, and I’m just in a baggy T-shirt and no make-up is that a problem?”
And there she is. The Hong Kong based beauty vlogger with 2.8 million subscribers has flown 12 hours across the world with a four months old baby to Northern Ireland, where she grew up, and she is worried whether or not she should have changed.
“Isaac is having a terrible jetlag and he is so cranky, I mean who even knew babies could get jetlagged?” Lindy rants, yet looking no more exhausted than the rest of us do before Christmas and exuding a warmth that tells the tale of how she has charmed her online following, who just adores her and her little family.
Bubzbeauty is Lindy's online beauty blogging alias, and where she helps young girls with everything from beauty advice to life lessons from her own experiences. Together with husband Timmy Ng, their business has grown from a small hobby to a blooming business, expanding to selling clothes and make-up brushes to Lindy's loyal followers among other projects.
Lindy and Timmy, aka “Bubz & Hubz”, grew up together as teenage sweethearts and tied the knot in August of 2013. A year later, their son Isaac (”Baby Bubz”), was born, and is now ready to spend his first Christmas in Northern Ireland with both parents' extended family.
“Christmas to me is all about spending time with our loved ones, family and friends, so I thought it was really important for us now that we have Isaac to come home and let him meet his family, his aunts and uncles and his great grandparents for the first time,” Lindy says.
Among Isaac’s aunts is April, 24, Lindy’s little sister and another blogger. I meet her in London, where she is based, working and blogging as a hobby on the side. While Bubzbeauty is based and grown around make-up, Apriloves focuses on fashion and style, heavily relying on instagram and written words over videos.
While the two sisters are different, their sharing traits shine through when remembering Christmas growing up and what is important in their lives.
“If I could have just one Christmas wish come true, it would have to be good health for my family, and my grandma especially,” says April. Her bright and enthusiastic demeanor becoming softer as she talks about her grandmother, who largely looked after the children while their parents were working. “She is becoming older, and with me not being there to drive her around or take her out, I just wish and hope that her health is good so I don’t have to worry, not being able to be there for her. “
The two sisters grew up in a traditionally Chinese family, and both say Christmas was not all that special. On Christmas Day the families would gather, but instead of traditional UK Christmas dinners they would all eat chinese food. Santa, according to April, was not even a topic of conversation.
But this year, with two new babies in the family and a new generation to fill the cultural gaps, things are changing in the Tsang household.
“Now we have a new addition to the family, and I’m looking so much forward to introducing Isaac to my Granny who hasn’t had a chance to meet him yet, that is going to be so special for me and for him as well,” Lindy says, obviously moved at the thought alone. “This year we will be having a traditional roast dinner in addition to the big Christmas day chinese meal. We’re all doing Secret Santa and I think it’s really going to be a wonderful time for the entire family.”
April also says that while, as a child, she was mostly excited about getting presents, she now much prefers giving them. “There’s just something about seeing someone open a present that you picked out specifically for them and that made you think of them which is very special, and it gives more to me than getting a present myself.”
But she’s quick to admit she’s fond of opening gifts too. “Well, except for last year. My brother got me my Secret santa: Gift cards! He was so pleased with himself too, it was hilarious. Christmas presents are supposed to be personal and caring, not something you have to go out and buy for yourself!” She laughs.
Both April and Lindy agree that, while they didn’t have much of the traditional Christmas growing up, the time was still important and brings out a lot of memories between them. However, as everyone have grown up and many have moved away, it becomes even more important to get together whenever it is possible.
“Last year, Tim and Lindy stayed in Hong Kong over Christmas, and even though we all still had a good time, it wasn’t the same,” April admits, and Lindy agrees. “Tim and I had been to Northern Ireland for our wedding only a few months before, so we couldn’t go, so it has been almost a year and a half since we last saw everyone. The other day we took Isaac and we went to the place where we got married together, which was so special, bringing our son with us.”
Lindy is known in the online community for always remembering to be thankful and not take all her blessings for granted. “For me it is really important to remember the essence of Christmas, and remember that we celebrate the birth of Jesus,” she thinks. “For a lot of people, Christmas tends to become more materialistic, but for me it’s a very strong reminder of what’s really important.”
When I ask about her wishes for the New Year, Lindy’s answer is no surprise, and reflects April’s wish in a lovely way.
“I just want my son to be healthy and well. That’s all we really need in the new year, our family to be happy and healthy,” she smiles.