'I AM QUEEN OF THE BREAD SAUCE!'

Childhood traditions have shaped the way Mary Portas and her family celebrate the festive season every year

When I was growing up, my mother made Christmas extraordinary. There were five kids and we would all have a stack of gifts. Most of them would be secondhand but I didn’t give a hoot. It was that joy of knowing the day was special. She would cook the turkey overnight because it was so big. There was a gorgeous smell through the house. It was the most happy, glorious time.

My mother died when I was 16 and I ended up being the matriarch. When I left home and married, it became a ritual that we did Christmas together because it was our way of clinging on to our mother’s memory. To this day, we do it. Last Christmas we had 18 people for lunch.

When I first met my wife, Melanie, she wanted to go somewhere glamorous and hot, but we made a compromise to have it here and go away in the New Year.

When people arrive, we have Champagne and smoked salmon. We all have a role – I am queen of the bread sauce. I infuse it the night before, so you get a lovely nutmeg taste, then I spend my time stirring it, with more Champagne.

We have a table plan and we have kept all of them – you can see who was here every year, which is quite emotional.

My daughter, Verity, does the table the night before and is in charge of the place cards. My son Milo does the drinks on Christmas morning. Our son Horatio is five and his role is being hyper! He loves Christmas because the house is always full and he’s well entertained.

We make a Christmas cake in November on my daughter’s birthday and everyone has to be there to stir in the love. I’m the only one who really eats it, so I become disgustingly cake-faced over Christmas – but I love it!