6 8 DECEMBER 2022 News&Views A family trip to London Giuseppe Dell’Anno, winner of The Great British Bake O 2021 Although we go all out with decorations and stick to canonical traditions, we’ve also established a new one over the years. On the first day of school break, the whole family hops on the train to London – we live in Bath. First, we stop at the Natural HistoryMuseum– according tomy children, nothing screams Christmas more than dinosaurs. Then we all go to a department store to pick two or three new baubles for our Christmas tree. With homemade sandwiches for lunch, it’s a great way to creatememories together. Italian Bakes (Quadrille) is out now A lido swim Fi Glover, radio presenter andWeekend columnist I couldn’t get through Christmas, with its excess and noise and tinsel and pork products, without at some point sliding into chilly water. Although I love thosemoments when family and friends are all bunched up together in a fug of love – or something approaching it – I always yearn for a tiny bit of sheer silence during those festive days. Diving under a bit of water at my local lido is my escape. Until the next pig in a blanket comes along… Prizes for Christmas Nick Grimshaw, DJ, presenter and cohost ofWaitrose podcast Dish Whenmy niece Liv was about four, she said: “Oh, I love all my prizes,” on seeing her presents. The entire family now refers to Christmas presents as prizes. We say: “Ooh, congratulations on your prizes,” as if we’ve all won. ATrinidadian feast Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO of OxfamGB My wife is Trinidadian and Christmas is a big deal in her family. Trinidad’s diversitymeans the food is truly global. Some of my favourites are pastelles (a cornmeal pie originating from indigenous tribes), ponche de crème (spiced eggnog) andmacaroni pie (who knew Italian pasta would go so well with pigeon peas and a leafy green vegetable called callaloo?). That said, it’s my daughter who gets the celebrations started in our house. She puts on her Christmas earrings and starts blasting Mariah Carey fromher bedroom in October. Aveggie centrepiece Rukmini Iyer, author of The Roasting Tin cookbooks As my family is vegetarian, we do all the trimmings (Delia’s roast potatoes, Heston’s glazed carrots, my roasted sprouts with feta and pumpkin seeds), but every year we pick a di erent veggie centrepiece. It’s a ritual –Mumgets the Christmas foodmagazines, we narrow down a shortlist, then pick one. We’ve hadmushroom Wellingtons, twice-baked cheese sou és and roulades. We’ve also had complex Ottolenghi dishes – this year, we’re planning something from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, although I’mhoping my sister will take charge, as I have a baby!” India Express (Square Peg) is out now Presents, but first lunch Jeremy Vine, BBCRadio 2 presenter and Channel 5 host It sounds shocking, but we don’t open any gifts until after Christmas lunch. Even now, this seems crazy tome, but it’s something that started when I was a kid. It makes the post-lunch moment more special. I can’t believe wemanaged to hold our kids back from the tree when they were five In focus Embracing the festive season doesn’t have tomean the same turkey and tinsel routine – it can also be about creating new rituals. Anna Shepard discovers some of the less conventional ways others celebrate at this time of year CHRISTMAS JUST AS WE LIKE IT
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