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MY ENGLISH CHRISTMAS Memories, traditions and insights from experts in lifestyle, interiors and entertaining.
English MY CHRISTMAS
The festive season is a time for merriment and wonder – we hear some of the cherished memories, traditions and insights from experts in lifestyle, interiors and entertaining
Nigel Slater, author and food writer
When I was eight years old, I climbed the ladder to the attic to get the Christmas decorations. When I opened the boxes, the mice had made the skeins of tinsel into glittering nests and had eaten the chocolate Christmas decorations, leaving all the coloured foil wrappers behind. It was really rather beautiful.
Decorating the tree. It takes an entire day. I start by getting out all the boxes of decorations down from the attic, then opening a bottle of champagne, putting carols on and slowly loading the tree with antique hand-painted glass decorations I have collected from Christmas markets in Vienna, Stockholm, Nuremberg and Cologne.
What is your favourite food at Christmas time?
Oysters, on ice, with nothing more than a very brief squeeze of lemon. Like champagne, they turn any moment into a celebration.
An annual day of window shopping. I have a late breakfast in a favourite restaurant, then go on a walking tour looking at all the Christmas windows. Bookshops are especially magical at this time of year.
What is the best gift you have ever received?
A Rimowa suitcase, given to me by my best friend. It has travelled with me all over the world. Made from aluminium and leather, it is strong, light and beautifully crafted. I expect I shall have it till the day I die.
ABOVE Champagne is served while the tree is decorated at Nigel Slater’s home. Champagne glasses, from Garden Trading. RIGHT A handsome leather shopping bag, made to order from Charlie Borrow is top of Slater’s wish list. ABOVE A gift to last a lifetime, a Rimowa suitcase is a wise investment.
Top of my Christmas wish list this year is…
At the top of my Christmas list this year is a handmade leather shopping bag by Charlie Borrow, from his shop in the East End. The bags are made to order. You choose the leather and details – zips, fastenings, straps – yourself, then wait patiently while it is made for you. It will take weeks,but will last a lifetime.
A Cook’s Book by Nigel Slater will be published March 2023 ($45, Ten Speed Press); nigelslater.com
LEFT The scene is set for Christmas dinner with tableware from Nina Campbell. ABOVE Well-behaved four-legged guests at the Dogs Trust Carol Concert. RIGHT A warming mince pie is a treat after an evening of carol singing. BELOW The flicker of real candles on the tree is a fond memory of Campbell’s. (Never leave lit candles unattended.)
Nina Campbell, interior designer
My first Christmas memory was as a small child, when we used to have real candles on the Christmas tree. It was quite complicated because we would go to church on Christmas Eve, and when we got back, the drawing room would be plunged into darkness, with the shutters shut. The Christmas tree was then lit with real candles, and my father stood beside it with a bucket of water and a wet sponge strung onto a long walking stick. It was actually quite dangerous, but it was so beautiful. I will never forget opening the door and seeing all these wonderfully wrapped parcels under the tree and the tree lit. I was born quite immediately after the war, and Christmas wrapping paper was rather rare, so once everything was unwrapped, the paper was carefully folded and put into a large trunk in the hall. It was then brought out and reused the following year, so there was a big tradition about Christmas and wonderful memories.
I have to go to a carol service, always, but the must-attend for me is the Dogs Trust Carol Concert at Chelsea Old Church. The dogs are extraordinary because they seem to know when the vicar comes in that they need to be quiet, but when people clap after the readings, they all start barking and joining in. At the party afterwards, you have to be very careful to make sure you have a mince pie meant for humans rather than a dog’s mince pie, but otherwise, it is a terrific event.
The thing I love about Christmas in my house is the doing of the Christmas tree. I love undoing the boxes and getting out all the special decorations we’ve bought from all over the world over the years. The stockings are also a huge thing, even as adults. I always wrapped the children’s stockings in different colour combinations of tissue paper so each would have two colours different to the next. I realised early on that coming home from Midnight Mass, it was too exhausting doing the stockings at two o’clock in the morning, so unless they were pre-prepared, it was a nightmare! With the different colours, it was then so easy to fill them. A Terry’s Chocolate Orange went into each one, and still does, and all sorts of mixed things. Some happened year in, year out, and some were different. All parcels had to be squishy and crinkly, hence the tissue paper!
shop.ninacampbell.com
Carlos Garcia, interior designer
Finding and putting up the Christmas tree must be one of my most cherished childhood memories. I still fondly remember going to the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree and the ensuing rummage in the attic boxes to find and put up the decorations. To this day, it is one of the most exciting traditions at Christmas.
Finding the correct Christmas tree is crucial – it can make or break households! Despite the mess (or perhaps because of it – it is part of the fun after all), we always go for a Nordmann fir. The smell in the room instantly brings out the Christmas spirit. Size does matter, and it is crucial that the tree is the correct size for the room and feels part of it, not an incongruous add-on that’s difficult to navigate around. Then there is the decoration of the tree. Together with some that hold childhood memories, every year, I buy a couple of good-quality decorations to add to the tree, which has gradually built into a small collection. Fortnum & Mason is my destination of choice.
Although Christmas is the time of the year when abundance is not only suitable but highly encouraged, I tend to favour a traditional and restrained colour palette, and certainly avoid trends. Just as my interiors need to feel settled, Christmas needs to feel rooted. Red and gold do this for me, so I always use them as a colour scheme for my decorations. All of the above must be done suitably aided by Bach’s Christmas Oratorio playing in the background, copious amounts of warm mince pies and a glass (or two) of mulled wine, of course.
Christmas wouldn’t be so without carols. I love music, and Christmas is the perfect time to indulge. Whether you are religious or not, there are fabulous, richly decorated churches and cathedrals offering carol services, some of them by candlelight. Westminster Cathedral in London and Norwich Cathedral are but a couple of examples. Nothing beats a carol service to put you in the mood for Christmas. This should be followed by some more lighthearted fun. Try skating on one of the ice rinks nearby. They may be a little crowded but are always mood-enhancing. The V&A and Somerset House are a couple of examples. If skating is a challenge, try a couple of glasses of mulled wine beforehand. You’ll be unstoppable!
Top of my Christmas wish list this year is…
Top of my list this year is a Sussex Trug from Thomas Smith. Extremely useful for the garden and traditionally made in sweet chestnut and cricket bat willow, it is a true work of craftsmanship and comes in different sizes and shapes.
carlosgarciainteriors.com
TOP Red and gold is Garcia’s choice for decorating his Nordmann fir tree. ABOVE A Thomas Smith Sussex trug is top of Carlos Garcia’s wish list. RIGHT A glass or two of mulled wine whilst decorating keeps things merry. Rimmed glass mugs by Dibor. BELOW RIGHT Garcia takes time to dress the fireplace with plenty of greenery. BELOW A spot of ice skating is fun in the run up to Christmas.
Sophie Conran, designer
I remember a Christmas when I must have been about 10 or 11 – we had the whole family together, the fire was burning and we were eating chocolate coffee beans, which seemed like the most exotic thing we’d ever eaten! My Dad was happily smoking a cigar, the tree was twinkling and Pachelbel’s Christmas Canon was playing. I remember it so clearly as my Granny had given me a small wicker suitcase, and inside, wrapped in layers of tissue paper, was a doll with several hand-knitted and handmade outfits – it was just a moment of pure joy opening it. That Christmas was a moment of real joy, of everyone being together and being happy – what every Christmas should be like.
My favourite tradition is opening stockings in bed with my kids and the dog – we all get in bed together!
Every year, I host a party with friends and family, which we call the ‘Tree Trimming Party’, where we dress up in decorative outfits and decorate the tree together. I make a cocktail called the ‘Sophie Sparkle’, and we enjoy it with some homemade cheese sablés – I make mine with a mixture of Gruyère and Parmesan and put little seeds on top. They are so buttery, crumbly and melt in your mouth and are perfect paired with a cocktail.
TOP Sophie Conran loves to host a festive party. All tableware, Sophie Conran. ABOVE Memories of Christmas by the fireside. RIGHT & FAR RIGHT Opening stockings in bed is Conran’s favourite tradition. Blankets from The Fine Cotton Co and stocking from Rebecca Udell. BELOW Conran would love a plum tree for her orchard this year.
Top of my Christmas wish list this year is…
Well, I’ve just started beekeeping, so it has to be a beekeeping outfit. My existing one is too baggy and the bees keep getting in. I’m also building an orchard, so I would love a fruit tree; plums seem to grow extremely well here.
sophieconran.com
Lady Bamford, founder of Daylesford Organic
Stir-up Sunday is an important tradition. I try to get as much of the family together so that we can each take a turn at stirring our Christmas pudding and making a wish. Then we’ll crack open a bottle of our homemade sloe gin, steeped since the previous year. That’s the moment I feel like Christmas has really begun and it always feels special.
Christmas isn’t Christmas if I don’t attend a carol service.
What is the best gift you have ever received or given?
My son George was born on Christmas Eve and nothing will ever come close to that. It was the best Christmas stocking.
Top of my Christmas wish list this year is…
The cocktail party hamper from Daylesford. It’s a set of six pre-made cocktails that are ready to pour. I particularly love the espresso martini and the yuzu margarita, but they will all be perfect for easy entertaining over the festive period.
daylesford.com
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Lady Bamford recommends the Daylesford cocktail party hamper. Sloe gin is a rewarding tipple after making the Christmas pudding. A carol service is a must during advent.
Alastair Hendy, owner, AG Hendy & Co
Decorating the tree. A family tree with family decorations accumulated over the years – ’60s tear-drop baubles and ’70s clear glass balls, silvery glass trumpets, two silk-covered ponies, glass icicles and saved gift tags, and a little dwarf with a pipe, all made the merrier with threadbare tinsel. Not forgetting Blue Peter-style gilded walnuts and straw snowflakes, and, of course, various cone-shaped paper fairies, all a little worse for wear but the more lovely for it. And the brown-card bauble boxes, all stuck with old Sellotape, their divisions stuffed with ancient faded tissue, holding treasures unearthed by ritual every year. My childhood. A record of the years, of fashion and change. A history of love and happiness on a tree.
What is your favourite food at Christmas?
Christmas screams tradition for me, and this it has to be: The Turkey, The Roast Potatoes, The Trimmings, The Gravy, and – if I can manage it – The Pud. I want the traditional works. I go for making a trifle, as it’s soaked in Christmas spirit and is the
ABOVE Chocolate, nut and fig slice is a nostalgic treat for Alastair Hendy. RIGHT Inside Hendy’s Tudor house in Hastings, open to visitors for the festive season as the Christmas House. BELOW Hendy will indulge in a spot of pudding, and trifle, after the main Christmas feast. OPPOSITE PAGE Decorations in the Christmas House have an AustroBavarian slant that lend a fairytale air. ABOVE A Hartley Botanic greenhouse is high on Hendy’s wish list. LEFT Decorations accumulated over years make for a special tree.
antidote to too much of the big bird. Sure, I’ll have the pud on top if it’s on offer – shop bought or not.
Then there are all the leftover cuts that do fantastic things on Boxing Day and beyond. Leftovers are mighty fine things and go well beyond the potential turkey-lurking sandwich, and that’s when I get world-ingredient creative, ring the changes and use everything up. We may get a little fancy come the evening, with home-cured salmon, smoked eel and a glass of champagne. And a fish pie of smoked haddock slathered in parsley sauce could be on the cards.
What is your ‘must-attend’ event or occasion?
My must-attend event is one I literally must attend, as I am running the show. It’s the opening up of my Tudor house in Hastings as ‘The Christmas House’ to visitors who come for a sprinkling of December festive magic. I love it, too, as it’s bit like being Santa to adults in a highly tasteful grotto. It all stems from my childhood Christmases, which were of the traditional Alpine variety, had while living in Germany, my father being in the forces. Christmas had an Austro-Bavarian slant, with lebkuchen and chocolate treats; gingerbread hearts hung on doors; spruce garlanding the streets; and serious icicles clinging to snow-clad Alpine chalet eaves. A proper postcard Christmas – yet with a sprinkling of the Brothers Grimm.
Top of my Christmas wish list this year is…
Okay, this is a biggie, born from my lockdown gardening mania: a greenhouse by Hartley Botanic please, which supplies handmade glass houses, tailor-made to your own brief, endorsed by the RHS. It can’t be wrapped, I know. Maybe landscape it with a mature Christmas tree, then it is at least “under the tree”. You’ll need a spare £50,000. Thank you.
aghendy.com n
