Welcome from the editor: Christmas, a time to pitch in

Welcome and thank you for joining me this weekend.

It’s 3 December, which means that the festive season has now officially kicked off. This year it has really snuck up on me. It wasn’t until a friend suggested going for a mulled wine last weekend that it dawned on me my favourite holiday had arrived. I’ve not even put up my tree yet (I’m a 1 December tree decorator), which means that, as per my own tradition, next year I’ll be allowed to get the tree out three days earlier.

As much as I adore Christmas food traditions, every year I like to try something new. To stay on top of their game and titillate our taste buds, food companies routinely launch new festive products and flavours. Sometimes successfully, sometimes less so. Take a look at this year’s innovations in our feature The Good Housekeeping Institute’s top Christmas food trends 2022.

This Christmas I’ve decided to buy gifts only for my dog and my dad (in that order) and donate money and food to those who need it. The cost of the living crisis is affecting us all, but for some the festive season won’t be very jolly at all, struggling to heat their home and putting food on the table. If there ever was a time to pitch in, this is it. See what organisations and supermarkets are doing to help in Gestures of goodwill: retail, charity and community food initiatives supporting the vulnerable this Christmas.

In this week’s most popular reads, find out where our Yule customs come from in A taste of Christmas past: festive British food traditions, and if you like to celebrate with a bit of bubbly but are abstaining from the hard stuff, our Ultimate guide to non alcoholic prosecco will answer all your questions.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Stef