The 12 treats of Christmas TV: the shows to watch this festive season
Jules Verne’s evergreen adventure story has attracted numerous adaptations. Partly, this is due to the winning simplicity of the plot: a bored Victorian gentleman-adventurer undertakes a bet…
The best (and worst) of the high-street Christmas sandwiches and drinks
Very generous on the cheese, which oozes out seductively. The cranberry flavour was strong, and the bread decent, but the main let down here was the flaccid…
The best white wines to buy for Christmas 2021
Palacio di Fefiñanes Albariño 2020 Rías Baixas, Spain (13%, Waitrose, £16.99) I was going to recommend the Wine Society’s Exhibition Albariño, but it will almost have sold…
How to create a stylish Christmas hamper
Top notch tea and coffee are hamper staples, and now you can choose ethical brands. The Rare Tea Company, set up by former banker Henrietta Lovell, sources…
Will school Scrooges put paid to children’s Nativity dreams?
One of the sweetest joys of the festive season is the Nativity play. I feel deeply nostalgic for the time when I had to find a stripey…
Amazing Christmas light displays across the UK worth travelling for
Bedgebury, Kent Selected dates from November 19 – January 3 The UK’s National Pinetum is a spectacular place for a wintry walk, with its world-renowned collection of conifers,…
The 100 best Christmas songs of all time
16. Please Come Home for Christmas (1978) – Eagles Originally by bluesman Charles Brown, The Eagles play it dead straight on a miserable country rocker that doesn’t hold…
The best new history books to buy for Christmas 2021
Christmas is the time of year when people are most likely to attend divine service, and Going to Church in Medieval England by Nicholas Orme (Yale, £20),…
The 30 best Christmas movies of all time
The Holiday (2006) One of those films drummed into our brains as a “modern Christmas classic” in light of seemingly endless ITV2 repeats, The Holiday is twee…
11 amazing Christmas light displays and switch on events worth travelling for
Bedgebury, Kent Selected dates from November 19 – January 3 The UK’s National Pinetum is a spectacular place for a wintry walk, with its world-renowned collection of conifers,…
How to plan an amazing trip to see Father Christmas in Lapland
One thing that will should remain reliable is the weather. During Lapland’s seven-month winter, a scant five hours of sunlight a day are normal, and the frozen…
Eight beautiful British holiday rentals for multi-generation Christmas getaways
After last year’s cancelled Christmas plans, a family gathering this year will feel all the sweeter. But you’re not the only ones planning a big festive get-together:…
The 50 best Christmas shows to book in 2021, from theatre to pantomimes
‘Tis the season to don your gladrags, pack some popcorn (or mini chocolate santas, perhaps) and skip off to a show – whether that be a theatrical…
Kelsey Grammer is a great actor – why has he never made a great movie?
The team managed to wrangle a few concessions. Frasier would follow Crane’s return home to Seattle, trading the brawling stickiness of Boston for the Pacific Northwest’s newly-cool…