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8 THE ENGLISH HOMEWhen it comes to Christmas I am anunashamed traditionalist. There is somethingso comforting about revisiting familiar familyrituals each year, don’t you think? My familyonce dabbled with Beef Wellington but, although it wasdelicious, we all agreed it wasn’t really quite the same as eatingturkey as the mainstay of the annual feast. And I can’t imagineChristmas without mince pies, carols or watching the Queen’sspeech. Creating our Christmas edition always transports me tothe season ahead. I still get as excited as a child when planningthe decorating and, of course, the gathering together of peopleI love the most. I am always fascinated by the variety oftraditions that people follow in celebrating this magicaloccasion, so with this in mind I persuaded our team to revealtheir own decorating rituals, too (see page 74). In my own homethe Christmas tree is hung with hundreds of warm-white lightsand groans with the weight of baubles we have collected overthe years: feathered partridges and glittering green pears, rubyred apples, stars in old gold and bronze as well as cinnamontwigs wrapped in bundles with organza ribbon. I have evenbeen known to indulge in two trees: Christmas is the onetime of year when I can’t help but feel that more is more!I do hope that our festive offerings will spark yourimagination; sometimes we all need a little kick-start to theanticipation and then it’s full steam ahead to creating theheart-warming gathering we hope to achieve each year.``````With warm regards,``````Festive preparationsOutside of work hours I have been......- Playing at furniture rearrangements to try newconfigurations in the sitting room ready to host alarge number of guests (see page 102 for ideas).- Making our guest bedrooms extra inviting It is onlyin the last few years that we have taken over thebaton as hosts for the extended family at Christmas,and I want to ensure that all who stay overnight feelcompletely at home.- Buying vintage linen to dress our dining table forthe Christmas feast. It was a discovery at The MaltHouse Emporium in Stroud – a wonderful resourcefor affordable antiques and vintage pieces, as wellas present shopping! malthouseemporium.comEDITOR’S PHOTOGRAPH``````RACHEL SMITH``````MAIN PHOTOGRAPH``````ALAMYA letter from homeKerryn Harper-Cuss, Editor``````Follow us on Twitter, @englishhometeam, andPinterest at pinterest.com/theenglishhomeTEH UK DEC15 Eds Letter.indd 8 22/10/2015 15: