Becky Pemberton REPORTING
A BALLSY couple have revealed they celebrate Christmas completely in the buff every year and say stripping off makes the celebration more fun.
Nick and Lins De Corte have celebrated the past three Christmas Days completely starkers and are excited to carry on the tradition this year.
Travel bloggers Nick, 34, and Lins, 38, have been naturists since they first started dating 12 years ago, and said they now spend December 25 without a stitch on their bodies – apart from a festive Christmas hat.
Although they are originally from Belgium, they typically spend Christmas in different countries around the world and this year they’ll be in Spain.
Speaking to Fabulous, the adventurous couple said: “It’s very liberating and comfortable. If there’s no specific reason to wear clothes (protection for weather, dangerous tools or angry eyes), we prefer not to wear any.
“If you look at little kids, most of them will prefer not to wear any clothes if they get the chance.
“They recognise the fun and comfort of it and they don’t have the social luggage that adults have. We have refound that joy.”
This year will be the fourth year they have spent Christmas nude; in 2017 they had a naked Christmas in Thailand, in 2018 one in Uruguay, in 2019 in Honduras and this year will be in Spain.
Nick and Lins, who also sell naturist travel guides and run the blog Naked Wanderings, added: “As naturists, we love naked social gatherings.
“Because we’ve always had the chance to celebrate Christmas with naturists during the last years, naked was always the obvious dress code.
“Christmas hats are always a fun accessory, other than that, we prefer au naturel.”
The couple say getting festive in the nude is a “no brainer” for them, particularly as they’ve spent the last few years in warm locations.
They joked: “If we would have spent Christmas back in Belgium, it would probably have been more enjoyable to put on some warm clothes.”
Even though December 25 is spent entirely nude, that doesn’t stop them celebrating with strangers they have just met.
They explained: “As we travel full time, we always spend Christmas with people we’ve just met.
“Because naturists in general are very friendly and welcoming, it’s never very hard to find a bunch of people to celebrate with.”
Even cooking a festive feast in the kitchen is done entirely naked – but they are careful about any spills and insist it is hygenic.
They said: “Cooking is definitely something to be careful with.
“The general rule is: If we would wear an apron to protect our clothes, we’ll also wear one to protect our body.
“Last Christmas we had a huge potluck where everyone just brought a small dish.
“And this Christmas it seems like we’ll be cooking our own dinner. It’s definitely hygienic to cook naked.
“Think about it, most people wash their body once or twice a day. Nobody washes their clothes at that frequency.
“The human body also has its own protection system against bacteria, something clothes don’t have.”
Nick and Lins took their first steps into social nudity in the first year they were dating, after meeting through mutual friends in Belgium.
They visited a nude spa together, and started going more regularly after they loved the experience.
They explained: “Eventually we started looking for other things that can be done clothes-free, so we ended up at naturist campgrounds, hotels, events, etc.
“Because we also love traveling a lot, it proved to be the perfect combination. We visit the most wonderful places and we don’t need to carry lots of luggage.”
They said they are often asked whether naturism has had a positive influence on their relationship, and say it’s hard to answer that question because they haven’t known anything else.
They added: “We became naturists within the first year of our relationship, so we don’t really have a before and after to compare.
“But the fact that we’re still together and enjoying naturism together, does prove that it definitely hasn’t been harmful for our relationship.
“During our travels, we have literally met thousands of other naturists from around the world. And because of our blog, we have virtually met many thousands more.”
Meanwhile, a naturist couple can now garden while naked after selling up and moving from Kent to Lincolnshire.
And scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London found the longer a person spent naked the better they felt about themselves, their body and their lives.
Is naturism the same as nudism?
Although the term is often used interchangeably, especially in the US, there is a subtle different between the two terms in the UK.
Nudism is the act of being naked and enjoying your own skin.
Naturism goes further and for many is a lifestyle involving self-respect, vegetarianism, non-smoking, yoga, teetotalism, pacifism and respect for the environment.
There are around 3.8 million naturists in the UK, and the British Naturism has more than 9,500 members.
