AFTER checking her red lippy and fluffing her hair, Estelle Keeber walks into the function room for some festive fun.
A band is playing, the buffet is laden with Christmas canapés and all around her people are clinking glasses of bubbly.
It’s like many other parties going on across the country — the only difference being that, rather than wearing glittery outfits or festive jumpers, everyone is STARKERS.
For Estelle, 42, from Leicester, the trip to a Birmingham hotel is a chance to mark the end of a year spent doing as many things in the nude as possible.
People might think she’s (Christmas) crackers but the mum-of-two says her naked year has done wonders for her self-esteem and she no longer worries about her mum tum or the stretch marks on her thighs.
Her decision to embrace nudity came about after she turned 40 in September 2022.
Feeling that she was at a crossroads in her life, Estelle — who is mum to Jed, 16, and Obi, 13 — decided to overhaul her life.
“I was single, with low self- esteem, and didn’t like my size-14 body,” she says.
“After breaking up with my sons’ father in 2015, I was surviving on just £36 a week of child benefit and part-time photography work, and was visiting food banks.
“So, I wrote myself a ‘F*** it, I’m 40’ list of things to do.”
First, she decided to tackle her career and swapped being a wedding photographer for building up a successful social-media firm.
“It made me realise that I could do anything,” she says.
At the end of last year, she decided she also wanted to change how she felt about her body.
“After I had my two sons I didn’t like my post-baby body,” she says.
“I was a size 14 and felt frumpy, despite having been going to the gym since 2021.”
So, at midnight on December 31 last year, she made a rather unusual New Year’s Eve resolution — to do as many things as possible in the nude.
“It sounds bonkers, but I knew that to accept my body I needed to stop hiding and do things which took me well out of my comfort zone,” she says.
Estelle’s idea, frowned upon as potty by some friends and family, came about after she had visited a naturist beach near the seaside resort of La Pineda, in the Tarragona region of Catalonia, during a solo holiday last year.
She says of that beach visit: “I was nervous about stripping off, but no-one batted an eyelid.
“I felt free and at ease with my body.
I was single, with low self-esteem, and didn’t like my size-14 body
Estelle Keeber
“When I told people about my ‘nude year resolution’ there were mixed reactions.
“Most women were impressed and wanted to learn more.
“Some thought it was crazy.
“Others said they were jealous that I had the guts to try it.
“When I told my sons, they just rolled their eyes and said: ‘Don’t do it around us, please.’ ”
Throughout the year, Estelle has ticked off many nudist milestones.
“I’ve had a naked spa day, eaten at a naturist restaurant and enjoyed a naked massage,” she says.
“I’ve sunbathed naked in my garden and pruned my hedges, even though the neighbours can see.”
But her proudest moment?
“I also appeared naked on the main page of The Sun’s website — that was a first,” she says, telling how she answered a callout for women who were proud naked sunbathers.
“It’s really helped my self-esteem and now I realise I am a sexy, confident woman.
“It’s also boosted my confidence in the bedroom and made me totally relaxed with my body.”
Estelle loves wandering around the house in her birthday suit, but is considerate of her sons’ wishes and avoids stripping off in front of them.
“I loved decorating the Christmas tree in the nude and wrapping gifts naked,” she adds.
“But I did it when the boys were at school.”
Estelle shares her adventures on Instagram, but isn’t on OnlyFans or any porn sites.
She has made lots of like-minded friends since embracing her new way of life.
“Everyone from doctors and lawyers to builders and cleaners do it,” she says.
It’s also boosted my confidence in the bedroom and made me totally relaxed with my body
Estelle Keeber
“And if I meet a new man, it isn’t a requirement that they like naturism, just as long as they respect my choice to do it.”
Come Christmas Day this year, Estelle will be baring all once again — but only when she is left home alone.
“When the boys go to see their dad, I will likely watch the King’s Speech with a glass of fizz, naked, to celebrate my year of being starkers.”
She’s also keen to share a festive message: “Don’t judge people by the clothes they (don’t) wear.
“It’s just about learning to love your body — just be careful where you sit at Christmas, when there are pine needles about.”
