CHRISTMAS CHEER: Darling Downs athletes Daniel Bowles, Will Power, Emilee Cherry, Jared Graves and Mark Steketee.
SOME of the leading sport stars from the Darling Downs are getting into the Christmas spirit.
Jet setting IRB Women's World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Emilee Cherry will be coming home as there is a break in the IRB Womens World Series.
"I'll be coming back to Toowoomba then out to Roma with the family," she said of her Christmas plans.
Toowoomba's Enduro MTB World Series champion Jared Graves will also be at home with his family, but he will still have to fit in some training rides around festive frivolity.
"You just plan for Christmas to be an easy day really, with training around it," Graves said.
"I'll just take an easy day or two around there and have a bit of family time.
"All of the family is in Toowoomba anyway so it is not hard to have family time and still squeeze in a ride for a few hours."
Toowoomba's IndyCar champion Will Power was getting into the Christmas spirit early when he and Penske team mate Helio Castroneves helped some children in Indianapolis in the United States buy gifts for their families.
"Watching the kids get to go shopping, I love it," Power told www.indycar.com. "To shop with underprivileged kids and make sure they have a great Christmas is always important.
"They run around a lot, but they are having fun. I enjoy it. That's why I come back every year."
Brisbane Roar defender Daniel Bowles also shared his time when he attended the Brisbane Paralympic Football Program's Christmas party.
"There's a lot of things in life that sometimes get taken for granted and to see kids with a range of different disabilities still wanting to play football, it really makes you appreciate what we do as footballers," Bowles told the Brisbane Roar website.
"Anything we can do to help put a smile on the kids' faces and they definitely put a smile on our faces too."
Bowles will have to avoid overindulging over Christmas as the Roar take on Central Coast at Gosford on Saturday.
Warwick cricketer Mark Steketee also has to have a quiet Christmas as he could play for the Brisbane Heat against the Melbourne Stars on Sunday in their next game of the Big Bash League season.
And not all sports people on the Darling Downs will make a big deal of Christmas, including Toowoomba jockey Kenji Yoshida.
"Japanese people don't really celebrate Christmas much," he said. "New Year's Eve is much bigger for us.
"But I will still have a few drinks and enjoy the day."
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