Christmas is by far my favourite time of year. I just love fairy lights, the smell of ginger bread, mulled wine and the colourful decorations that brighten up grey winter days. So when John Lewis asked me to contribute my set of rules for a ‘Perfect Family Christmas’, I was more than happy to join in.

• As long as little L is too little to talk back, I shall be allowed to dress her up and use her for corny photo shoots.
• The most important meal is dinner on Christmas Eve – being continental-Scandinavian-Europeans, this is the main event. For Christmas Eve we are having Julbord, which is the uber-Smörgåsbord. We limit ourselves to only a few of the over 50 (!) dishes you can find on a Julbord. Ham and gravlax are among our favourites, and sprouts are definitely out! They used to make me gag as a child, and I am not keen on trying them again. Especially not on Christmas Eve.
• There is going to be lots of Champagne during the festive days. At least I hope so.
• Unwrapping gifts is usually post dinner, but this year we will make an exception for little L. She can hardly keep her eyes open beyond 7PM.
• The four Sundays before Christmas are spent with a big, festively decorated Advent wreath made of fir tree branches. Each Sunday one candle on the wreath is lit, so that at the last Sunday before Christmas all four candles are burning. For us, the Christmas season starts with the first Advent Sunday; this year it is November 29^th.

• Homemade Christmas Cookies are a must – each weekend during Advent a batch or two is made and carefully put away in tin boxes. If we are lucky, there are still some left at Christmas Eve.
• This year we are going to celebrate the Swedish Lucia with the in-laws and adjoining family at our house, whilst at Christmas, we will be just the three of us. I love having my parents-in-law around, and the rule is to spend as much time together as possible. Plus Champagne.
• By November 29^th, the Christmas playlist will have found its way back onto my iPod. From then on it’s Christmas songs until Big M’s ears bleed. My favourite numbers are by Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. Very cheerful.
• There’ll be lots of singing (my part) and lots of eye-rolling (Big M’s part).
• I would love to establish the rule to go to the ‘Christmas Carols Singalong’ at the Royal Albert Hall, once little L is a little bigger. We went last year on the afternoon of the 24^th, and it was absolutely fantastic.

• Decoration time starts with the first Advent Sunday. There are boxes and boxes and boxes up on the loft, waiting for me to release their precious contents. There’ll be decorations on the mantle pieces above the fireplaces, in big vases all around the house and on the kitchen windowsill, all nestled in fir tree branches. Mistletoe goes above the entrance door and
• The tree has to be real, preferably Nordmann Fir. Traditionally, it’s not coming in until the morning of the 24^th. Baubles, silk bows and ornaments have to go on the tree as well as real candles.
• And if I was to make the rules entirely, there had to be snow to have a family sleigh ride through a winter wonderland.