_Skye Mcalpine Brings Us Magic Making, Feasting and Making Merry in Her New Christmas Companion._ _Talk & Tastings_ _The Christmas Companion_ is the indispensable guide to a cosy, relaxed and memorable Christmas from home cook, food writer and expert host Skye McAlpine. The book opens with a section on how to plan a magical Christmas which includes craft ideas such as wreaths, homemade decorations, advent calendars and crackers, tips on the best times to order trees, cards, presents and food. There are also lots of ideas for edible gifts including _Candy Cane Hot Chocolate Sticks_ and _Cocoa and Panettone Truffles_. Greet your guests with an _Amarena Amaretto Sour_ or a _Chestnut Martini_, feast on Pomegranate-Glazed Turkey to _Camembert & Cranberry Pithivier_ and _Cranberry & Zabaione Trifle_. And for those who want to get ahead with menu planning, the final section contains menu plans for different festive gatherings, table setting ideas, a glossary of the key Christmas ingredients to have to hand and a planner section giving tools, lists and space for notes so that you can refer back to your notes and plans year after year. _'I LOVE CHRISTMAS. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED CHRISTMAS. I LOVE THE BONHOMIE AND THE CONVIVIALITY AND THE EXCESS OF IT ALL: THE FOOD, THE SWEETS, THE BRANDY-LADEN PUDDINGS, THE RUSTLE OF TISSUE PAPER ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, THE JOLLINESS OF SING-ALONG CAROLS. I LOVE THAT SWEET, OUTDOORSY SMELL OF A REAL FIR TREE AND THE TWINKLING LIGHTS IN THE STREET AT NIGHT. I EVEN LOVE HOW BUSTLING AND BUSY THE SHOPS GET IN THAT LAST MAD RUSH BEFORE THE DAY ITSELF. I LOVE IT ALL. SO, TO HAVE THE EXCUSE TO LOSE MYSELF HERE IN THE UNADULTERATED JOY OF EGG NOG-FUELLED HOLIDAY BAKING, TO CONJURE UP FESTIVE MENU UPON FESTIVE MENU FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, THIS IS TRULY MY HAPPIEST PLACE' SKYE_ _'Skye's unabashed love for Christmas shines through these pages like a golden star placed high on a tree.'_ _Luke Edward Hall_ Skye McAlpine is a cookery writer who believes that food tastes best when shared with others. She is author of three other cookbooks, _A TABLE IN VENICE, A TABLE FOR FRIENDS_ and _A TABLE FULL OF LOVE_. She writes a monthly recipe column for The Sunday Times, as well as the popular Substack newsletter, ‘_THE DOLCE VITA DIARIES_’; and contributes to publications from around the world. When she’s not cooking or writing, Skye works on designs for her own range of tabletop essentials, Skye McAlpine _TAVOLA_. She lives between Venice, where she grew up and where her heart lies, and London, where her work most often takes her.