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Country Life's luxury editor's gift ideas for gentlemen
Christmas gift ideas for all of the men in your life, from fathers to husbands, to boyfriends to brothers.
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Country Life's luxury editor's Christmas gift ideas for leading ladies
The Country Life Christmas gift guide is back and it's bigger than ever. Here's what to buy your mother, wife, sister or girlfriend (or all four).
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Mince pies really did once contain meat — and this Victorian recipe will convince you that they should to this day
Once packed with meat, such as ox tongue and mutton, alongside dried and candied fruit and extravagant spices, the mince pie is not what it once was — and food historian Neil Buttery says that's made them worse.
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The 2024 Country Life Editor's Christmas Quiz: The Answers
How did you do? Check your answers to the quiz
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The 2024 Country Life Editor's Christmas quiz
It's Christmas day. You've probably run out of things to talk about. Why not do this quiz to pass the time? Answers will be posted at 1:30pm tomorrow.
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The Country Life Christmas message by Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy: ‘The most powerful person in the world’ is not an emperor, high priest or CEO, but a helpless baby in the arms of a loving mother
Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy on how Christmas shows us that ‘the most powerful person in the world’ is not an emperor, or a high priest or the CEO of a tech company, but a helpless baby in the arms of a loving mother.
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The wine merchant: 'We’re all shattered by the time we close at 3pm on Christmas Eve'
In the last of our series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is, Paula Lester speaks to wine merchant Tom Ashworth.
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The racehorse trainer: 'Christmas Day is the only day of the year that I actually ride a horse'
Kate Green meets Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, in our series on the people who make Christmas in the country the joy it is, to discover how racehorses are looked after even when everyone else is inside with turkey and mince pies.
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The award-winning cook who makes 5,000 Christmas puddings a year, every single one of them by hand
Kate Green talks to Wizz Gambier, the woman who lives and breathes Christmas puddings, in our series on the people who make Christmas in the country the joy it is.
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Christmas gift ideas for children
From adorable booties and cardigans to toys that will keep tiny tots entertained for hours.
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Seven perfect Christmas gifts for people who just love beautiful, functional things
William Morris famously said to have nothing in your house that you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. These things do their best to hit both targets.
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The cathedral choirmaster: 'The thing I love about the Christmas repertoire is the mix of modern and ancient'
Today's piece in our series on the people who make Christmas in the country sees Kate Green meet Tim Parsons at Wells Cathedral.
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The gamekeeper: ‘I’ve lost count of the school plays that I made by the skin of my teeth’
Our series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is continues as Paula Lester meets Andrew Holloway.
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The Christmas wreath-maker: 'They sell quicker than we can make them'
All this week we're running a series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is. Today, Paula Lester meets wreath maker Ellie Taylor.
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What to get the wine lover who has everything? How about a 300-bottle barrel, a string of über-vintages or a wine that comes with a trip on a private jet
One of the most storied wine-producing families in Italy has put up a series of rather incredible bottles (and more) in Christie's impending fine wine auction.
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The five most beautiful Advent Calendars of Christmas
The best Advent calendars of 2024, as chosen by Flora Watkins.
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The 2023 Country Life Editor's Christmas Quiz: The Answers
All the answers to Country Life's 2023 Christmas Quiz.
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When England cancelled Christmas
No feasting. No drinking. No celebrations. Ian Morton explores what the festive period was like when Oliver Cromwell’s Christmas clampdown gripped the nation.
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The most wonderful time of the year: Country Life's A to Z of Christmas
Lights and turkeys and bells, oh my! Embrace the festive spirit with Amie Elizabeth White’s A to Z of Christmas
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11 ways to do Christmas in right royal style, by A-list party planner Johnny Roxburgh
Johnny Roxburgh, one of Britain's top party planners, shares his tips on the best things to have at your own seasonal celebrations.
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Not so jolly old St Nicholas? The dark side of Santa
Father Christmas may be the rosy-cheeked, jolly character who personifies the fun of the festive season, but he’s had to overcome a few setbacks on the way, notes Ian Morton.
