Category Archives: Christmas

Nigella Lawson tells Britain to give Christmas cake the heave-ho-ho-ho

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TV cook says she will be making chocolate cake this year, a new tradition for her household

It may be one of the longest-standing festive traditions, but Nigella Lawson has urged people to ditch Christmas cake this year and opt for a family-friendly chocolate one instead.

The celebrity chef said there was no point in having a dried fruit cake “gathering dust” on the kitchen counter, and families should choose a festive dessert that would go down better with visiting guests over the winter break.

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LadBaby bows out of Christmas No 1 race after five consecutive chart-toppers

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Record-breaking run comes to an end after raising over £1m for food bank charity The Trussell Trust

After beating the Beatles’ record for the most UK Christmas No 1s and raising well over £1m for charity, YouTube star LadBaby is bowing out of this year’s race for the festive top spot.

Mark Hoyle, with his wife Roxanne and their two sons in support, has reached No 1 at Christmas every year since 2018, with a series of songs featuring punning reworks – chiefly centred on sausage rolls – of classic rock songs.

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AI Pictionary and a ‘robo-dog’ make UK shops’ hottest Christmas toy lists

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Retailers hope new version of top-selling board game plus Dog-E will help fuel festive sales recovery

A new version of Pictionary that pits artist against artificial intelligence and a pet “robo-dog” with a wagging tail are among the toys destined to appear on Christmas lists this year as retailers pray for better sales during the key festive trading period.

With the cost of living crisis looming large over another year’s celebrations, the Toy Retailers Association’s annual DreamToys list of the 20 “hottest” gifts includes a dozen that are under £50. Among them is Pictionary vs AI (£24), a new version of the classic board game that pitches (terrible) human sketches against the might of AI processing power.

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Royal Mail loses 360-year monopoly on delivering parcels from Post Office sites

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Customer dissatisfaction with service thought to be reason for expanding remit to Evri and DPD

Royal Mail is to lose its 360-year-old monopoly on delivering parcels from Post Office branches, after concerns about poor quality of service persuaded the postal service to sign deals with rivals Evri and DPD in the run-up to Christmas.

The two couriers would be added to the options available at the counter from later this month, the Post Office said, with customers given a choice for the first time.

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UK recession fears grow as shoppers cut spending ‘to save for Christmas’

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Drop in retail sales also because of consumer worries over high energy bills and mortgages, surveys suggest

Fears that the UK is heading for a recession this winter have intensified amid signs Britain’s hard-pressed households are cutting spending as they save for Christmas and higher fuel bills.

Two monthly snapshots of retail activity found shops and online outlets struggling because of consumer budgets being squeezed by dearer mortgages and the UK’s lingering cost of living crisis.

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Ukraine moves Christmas date to 25 December in snub to Russia

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Ukrainian church has traditionally observed the holiday on 7 January, in line with the Moscow patriarchy

Ukraine has moved its official Christmas holiday to 25 December in a break with the Russian Orthodox church, which celebrates it on 7 January.

The bill signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday highlights the deepening rift between churches in Kyiv and Moscow since Russia’s invasion of its pro-western neighbour.

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More than 14,000 in Washington state lose power after energy station attacked

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Christmas Day outages add to an alarming string of incidents with similar power grid vandalism in Oregon and North Carolina

More than 14,000 people suffered power outages in Washington state on Christmas Day following burglaries and a series of vandalisms at different power stations.

The Pierce county sheriff said in two statements that no suspects have yet been identified for the incidents.

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UK retailers face quieter Boxing Day amid cost of living crisis

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An estimated £3.8bn will be spent on 26 December, down almost 4% on last year

Retailers are preparing for a quieter Boxing Day this year despite freedom from pandemic restrictions as the cost of living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets.

Spending is expected to hit almost £3.8bn on 26 December, according to research by GlobalData for Vouchercodes.

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King Charles’s Christmas message – text in full

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Monarch reflects on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in first Christmas Day broadcast

I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.

I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.

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Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis call for end to war in Ukraine

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Pontiff says world suffering from ‘famine of peace’ as Justin Welby praises example of late monarch

The archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine.

During his sermon, Justin Welby also spoke of those suffering “immense anxiety and hardship” during the cost of living crisis and made reference to the “desperate struggles of hospital wards”.

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‘It can be a difficult time’: Albanese helps to serve Christmas meal for Australians in need

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PM spends Christmas morning at Ashfield Uniting Church in Sydney’s inner west along with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns

Anthony Albanese has joined volunteers to serve a Christmas meal to vulnerable Sydneysiders and has acknowledged Australians who are doing it tough at what should be a joyful time of year.

Albanese spent the morning the same way he does every year, at the Ashfield Uniting Church in his inner-western Sydney electorate with the Rev Bill Crews.

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‘You see trees on sale’: the easing of Saudi Arabia’s Christmas taboo

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Furtive transactions a thing of the past as retailers tentatively sell decorations openly

In previous years during the run-up to Christmas, Alia Obaidi would go to the local market in Riyadh, summon an Indian merchant and whisper her order. A short time later, he’d return with a cardboard box from a back room and furtively collect money.

But things have changed. When Alia, a Lebanese resident of the Saudi capital, made her annual trip to source Christmas decorations this year, she no longer needed the merchant, or the subterfuge.

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No room in Bethlehem’s inns as tourists return for Christmas season

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West Bank city gears up for festive season after two years of pandemic restrictions

There’s once again no room at the inn in Bethlehem as the Palestinian city gears up for its first Christmas season after two years of pandemic restrictions.

During the week of Christmas this year, 120,000 tourists and pilgrims from all over the world are expected to visit the occupied West Bank town, home to the Byzantine Church of the Nativity, which stands on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born. The predicted numbers for 2022 are almost on a par with 2019, when Bethlehem saw an all-time high of 150,000 visitors in the same time period, and 3 million visitors overall.

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‘Ghost stories are essentially optimistic’: Mark Gatiss leads a spooky on-air Christmas

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League of Gentlemen star’s two programmes are part of a rich seam of shows about the supernatural this year

This year’s Christmas TV and radio schedules feature more spooky and supernatural content than before the pandemic, reflecting a hunger for answers during uncertain times or grief for loved ones.

That’s according to Sherlock and League of Gentlemen writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who will be appearing in two ghostly programmes over the Christmas period.

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Rome’s solar-powered Christmas tree lights spark row over ‘ugly’ panels

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Critics accuse authorities of ‘bogus environmentalism’ over installation in historic Piazza Venezia

A row has broken out over two “ugly” solar panels intended to power the lights on Rome’s traditional Christmas tree.

There is always much anticipation in the Italian capital when the fir arrives at the Piazza Venezia in the historic centre – a Unesco world heritage site – with many giving their view on the choice of decoration.

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No ice rinks, fewer lights: Christmas markets across Europe scaled back as energy costs soar

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Cities are trying hard to keep the festive spirit amid the cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine

European Christmas markets and illuminations are scaling back due to the energy crisis and climate breakdown – ditching seasonal ice rinks for rollerskating and switching on lights for less time.

When the traditional end-of-year markets and Christmas lights launch in France and Germany this week, in many cities such as Paris they will go dark hours earlier than usual.

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Aldi’s 29p mince pie a close second to Waitrose’s winner in blind taste test

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Waitrose’s No 1 Brown Butter pies wowed with their ‘buttery aroma’, while Aldi’s, at half the price, scored just one point less

Tucking into a mince pie is usually the first sign Christmas is on the way and with budgets under pressure this year getting your fix doesn’t have to break the bank, with a 29p pie from Aldi coming a close second to Waitrose’s brown butter pastry in a taste test.

The upmarket supermarket’s No 1 Brown Butter Mince Pies came top in a “rigorous” blind taste test conducted by Which?. They wowed the panel of baking experts with their “buttery aroma” and “citrussy aftertaste” to achieve the top score of 74%, earning the consumer group’s coveted “best buy” badge of approval.

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Heathrow ‘ready for Christmas rush’ after making plans to avoid disruption

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Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years

Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.

Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.

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