Kirstie Allsopp has moved effortlessly from being the Princess of Property to being the Queen of Christmas.
With Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, which begins its run on Channel 4 during the day tomorrow, the star of Location, Location, Location will deliver a host of tips to create the ideal festive atmosphere at home.
For someone peddling the perfect Christmas, though, this time of year is a lot less rigid.
“My focus has kind of pulled forward to my kids so it’s not really about me and my family – it’s about them and what they want to do,” says Allsopp.
“I tend not to spend Christmas with my dad and my siblings because I’m with the kids and they have their things they like to do.
“I’m very close to my siblings, I see them all the time, and my children see their cousins all the time, so we don’t actually gather as an extended family at Christmas.
“We do occasionally have a more traditional Christmas, but I think my children get a lot of Christmas through my work. Their home is decorated at least twice a year in advance of Christmas!
“They’re very into the whole thing and they love taking anything leftover from the show into school. The show and Christmas crafts have always been a point of pride and curiosity for them.
“I feel they get a lot of Christmas, but we’re quite low key on Christmas Day itself.”
Even when it comes to the festive feast don’t expect a traditional spread in the Allsopp household.
“I’m definitely moving over to the way my in-laws do it – have a generous breakfast and then have the main meal at around 6pm when it gets dark,” she adds. “It’s a really nice and takes the pressure off getting everything ready for lunch.
“This Christmas, I’ll be making contributer Shelina Permalloo’s, lobster, mango and rice but will do a fair bit of it the day before.”
Helping people be more crafty and less wasteful at Christmas is something Allsopp enjoys, but the commercial aspect of the festive season is built in, she says.
“If you go a long way back, into the Dickens era, there are stories of the big turkey in the window of the butchers and the special toys in the window of the toy shop,” she explains. “It’s always been an opportunity for retailers to sell more and that’s what retailers do.
“I think there’s a lot of grumbling about Christmas but it’s just fun. You can do it in a way which is environmentally less impactful if you make an effort and that’s definitely an effort worth making.
“As far as the fun of it goes, I’m all for it.”
Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, Channel 4, Mon-Fri, 5pm.
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