You can’t help but be charmed by this tinsel-tinged tome. Sunday Times columnist, cookery writer and self-confessed yuletidephile Skye McAlpine has written the ultimate guide to Christmas, with sections to cover all the bases, including Magic Making, Feasting, Making Merry and Your Christmas. Feasting, of course, covers the food and all the Christmas classics are featured – turkey, ham, mince pies and mulled wine – along with some more unusual fare including Egg Nog Cream Pie and Wilted Kale with Marmite Butter. And Skye has thought of everyone with some genuinely gorgeous-sounding vege options (Black Truffle, Mascarpone and Quail’s Egg Pasta Pie anyone?) for those who might be more used to being relegated to the side dishes. There are also useful checklists and planners, tips on everything from homemade advent calendars, tree trimming and gift wrapping. It truly is a manual for all things Christmas. Initially I wondered if it was all… too much for one day of the year? But when you consider that nowadays ‘Christmas’ actually comprises about a month of lead-up, with end-of-year catch-ups from everyone from workmates to gym buddies, parent pals and, of course, family and friends, it makes perfect sense. And although Skye is based in Britain, where Christmas looks quite different, in some ways this makes this book an even better prospect for us Kiwis given we’d also have the occasion to use it for midwinter Christmas and the winter months, along with Christmas itself. It’s so genuinely useful and you can imagine a well-thumbed pudding batter-splattered copy coming out every year at Christmas and being passed through generations. For those who love to lean into the season, this would make the perfect present.
SÍANA CLIFFORD