Memory lane
I was born just before Christmas, and at the time my mother received a dear little postcard from my grandfather. On the back of the card, in red ink, it says ‘Blessed to Charlotte and her baby girl’. Every year we would bring it out and we still place it on our tree now. My earliest memories of Christmas are spending them at our family home in Hertfordshire. I vividly remember decorating the tree with my mother, my sister
Sophie and my brother Tom. Each year we longed for snow and as soon as it came we would go tobogganing. For me, Christmas is about tradition – family, decorating the tree, lots of candles and bringing greenery indoors. We use ivy and holly from the garden to decorate our mantelpieces and drape over pictures. I love Advent and Advent hymns and I adore robins and carol singers. We are quite last minute – once my birthday is over we focus on Christmas. We basically continue the traditions of my mother and grandmother, and each year we bring out platters that belonged to them – I love having some special pieces from the past. We always have a large tree, and when the children were younger I used to let them have a tree each! On Christmas Eve I always make my special ‘light pudding’. I am very proud of my pudding. I use golden sultanas and dried fruit and I steam it for four hours and then again for two to three hours the following morning. I love the tradition of heating up the brandy and lighting it.
‘I always bring greenery in from the garden and light as many candles as possible’