Alice Temperley
I’ll be in Somerset, and I am planning to drink as much port and eat as much
expensive cheese as possible. Our Christmases revolve around playing games
with the family, beach walks and food. Luckily, I went to India last week
for work, so I was able to load up on presents – trinkets and fabrics – so I
could make my inlaws things for the house. We still do stockings, and my
sisters and brothers still get into my bed at 5am, even though we’re all
more or less grown up. We start eating chocolates at 6am, then there’s lots
of mulled cider and brandy, a huge lunch and a Boxing Day walk on the beach.
As it’s the countryside, I’ll wear just one simple, easy dress and huge
knitted house socks. I’m hoping my husband’s got me some underwear.
Karl Lagerfeld
I’m not allowed to travel at Christmas, as we are in the middle of couture and
I might have an accident. I have to stay in Paris and work. It’s divine to
stay here, reading, sketching, not watching “the thing” [the TV], but
getting things done because there is nobody about. What I like best is when
I don’t have to look at my watch. I love to be alone – you have to recharge
your batteries. This Christmas, I’m moving, leaving a house I have lived in
for 30 years. It’s a difficult move – not sentimentally, because I am not a
sentimental person – but because of everything I’ve accumulated over the
years. I’m taking only what I really need. The new place is very modern: all
glass, silver, white and grey, and very beautiful, overlooking the Seine. It
took me 2½ years to do.
Sharon Osbourne
The family are all working so hard in different places over the year that we
never get to spend any time together, just the five of us. Ozzy’s on tour in
America at the moment, so this year we will all be over there. Ten days of
just family. Nothing is more important than that.
Anya Hindmarch
Locking the doors, lighting the fires and closing out the world. I can’t wait.
This year, at home in London, we’re also going to do all the things we never
have time to do: a Jack the Ripper walk, a competitive gingerbread-house
cook-off, dinner at the Tiroler Hut, for Austrian madness, lunch at the Nags
Head. Then we are going to the mountains on December 28 to work off the
damage.
Holestar
I’ll be performing in a trannie panto. Christmas is a celebration of
indulgence: being a trannie is overindulgence, and what I do is
overoverindulgence. I will be partying very hard, and partaking in a little
“relaxation” after the gigs. Then I’m going to my father’s for Christmas
Day. Holestar won’t be coming – my alter ego will be stuck in rehab. My
parents know her, but they don’t quite get her. They find it amusing but
bizarre. Actually, although I’m playing with gender roles, Hole is my family
name – but, obviously, a lot of people think it refers to something else.
When I was in the army, I was Private Hole. Anyway, Sir Cliff of Richard
once said: “Christmas is love and Christmas is peace.” And I say: “Why not?”
Roberto Cavalli
Christmas for me means two things: family and Florence. I spend so much time
travelling that, for a few days, it’s just so fulfilling to cherish my roots
and find myself again in my own place, in our house in the hills above
Florence, with the people I love the most: my children, my grandchildren and
my wife, Eva. We’ll all be there, chatting by the fireplace, eating
wonderful Italian meals, exchanging presents, having a good time. We have a
proverb in Italy that goes: “Spend Christmas with your family and Easter
with whoever you want.” I happily oblige.
Perez Hilton
I’ll be in Los Angeles – it’s my first Christmas here. The big thing for us is
Christmas Eve: we have a huge Cuban Noche Buena. Traditionally, Cubans roast
a whole pig and eat it with rice, beans, avocado and things, but I’m not
sure we’ll go that far. I mainly love the desserts: buñuelos
and turrones. Buñuelos are mashed-up root vegetables
made into ribbons and deep-fried, and turrones are different kinds
of candies that you buy in a box. We exchange presents at midnight, then
spend the whole of Christmas Day eating. I’ll do some work, probably for
about four hours, because I work every day of the year. If I don’t post,
people will be disappointed – I have a demanding public.
Alex James
Everyone piles into our bed in the morning with their stockings, including my
mum and dad. One of my last rock-star purchases was a huge bed, big enough
to fit us all, and we have a fire in our bedroom that we only ever get
around to lighting on Christmas Day. We don’t do presents until after lunch
– it’s almost posher than goose, doing the presents after lunch, isn’t it?
This year, we’ll eat boned stuffed duck, with oysters to start, but for me,
the absolute high point is just before the cheese comes out: that’s the
moment when I take a deep breath and say . . . yeah. This year, I’ll serve
two cheeses – a vacherin, because it can punch its way through the layers of
duck and oysters, and our cheese, Evenlode Little Wallop. The best thing
about Christmas here is the fires in every room. They take over from the TV:
you just sit and stare at them, and the next thing you know, you’ve been
there for hours. And the tree. We have a huge tree that Claire decorates.
It’s totally bling. Wedding dresses and Christmas trees – women can’t
control themselves, can they?
Daniella Helayel of Issa
For the past four years, I have spent Christmas at our factory in China,
looking at fabrics and samples, as I keep changing things until the last
minute. I loved Christmas when I was a kid, but I think it’s only fun when
you have lots of children around. I can’t wait to have my own children, so I
will want to celebrate again. I often spend the time between Christmas Day
and the new year detoxing and meditating – this year, I’m going to Chiva-Som
spa, in Thailand. I like to swim and be in the sun and relax; it is the
ultimate pampering. Flavio Briatore For sure I will be heading somewhere
hot, with lots of sunshine and blue sea, in the company of my fiancée,
Elisabetta, and a few good friends.
Diane von Furstenberg
Christmas Eve will be spent under a huge tree in our house in Los Angeles. My
husband, children and grandchildren will be there, as well as some friends.
We will eat early and open presents, then the next day we will all fly to
Aspen for a week of skiing and rest.
Mairead, Queens of Noize
You can get away with anything at Christmas: sleep, eat and party as much as
you want. I’m an only child, and Christmas with just my mum and dad is never
that much fun, so I see them beforehand. When I start breeding, I’m sure
I’ll go back, though. I spend time with friends and do things I haven’t done
before. I’ve been to Hawaii and Mexico, and had a whale-watching Christmas.
This year, we’re skiing in France. We’ll do lots of cooking, take Pictionary
and play loads of daft games.
Angela Hartnett
Our family, over the past few years, has got bigger and bigger. This year,
we’re 22. Presents don’t feature: it’s just about getting together, although
my brother’s children get a few gifts in the morning. I know Christmas is
here when my mum, my aunts and I sit down and make anolini – little
ravioli-type parcels filled with braised beef and veal, mixed with
breadcrumbs and parmesan, served in a chicken broth. When we sit down to eat
them, everyone has to give their opinion on every little detail – nobody can
just say they’re nice.
Jilly Cooper
On Christmas Day, we wake up clutching our heads and have smoked salmon and a
glass of champagne for lunch – last year, we tried Nigella’s recipe and it
didn’t work. We don’t open presents until 9.30pm. The animals buy presents
for everyone. It’s obscene: there are three dogs and two cats. My perfect
Christmas would be to stay at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
with the whole family, and just eat and sleep. We’d play poker, and it would
be lovely to have a magic present-giver wizard to sort out all the gifts.
