Country Life 29 November 2023

Country Life 29 November 2023 is our advent calendar special issue, featuring seasonal wine, medieval homes and our annual Christmas gift guide.

Here’s a look at some of what you’ll find inside.

Claus for celebration

Embrace the festive spirit, with bells on, in Amie Elizabeth White’s magical A to Z of Christmas

Well, isn’t that just the icing on the biscuit?

There’s always a reason to biscuit, discovers Katy Birchall

A modern guide to table manners

Catch up on the etiquette of for-mal dining with Annunciata Elwes

Recommended videos for you

Sip, sip, hooray!

Accessories to aid your festive entertaining, with Amelia Thorpe

I’ll have a side of drama, please

Flambé is back on the menu as Tom Parker Bowles argues for the return of tableside cooking

What to serve when

Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler has a tipple idea for every occasion

I go to pieces

A puzzled Ben Lerwill explores the enduring appeal of the jigsaw

He who pays the piper

Octavia Pollock finds a pig in a poke has gone for a burton

Christmas gifts

Hetty Lintell’s perfect present picks for everyone in your life

Editors’ choice

Country Life’s section editors reveal their festive fancies

John Lewis-Stempel’s favourite painting

The Nature writer selects a work in praise of the Southdown sheep

Glory of the garden

Tiffany Daneff marvels at floral creations from Rachel Siegfried

Hitting the sweet spot

How did marzipan take Britain by storm, asks Matthew Dennison

Raise your glass

Mary Miers on fears for the craft of stained-glass window making

Mastered in every detail

Jeremy Musson explores the houses of Henry James novels

Native breeds

Kate Green on Aylesbury ducks

Luxury

Joanna Lumley’s luxury picks and Hetty Lintell’s latest finds

Going full tilt

Rob Crossan takes a tour of Britain’s most crooked buildings

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson on kalettes

The scents that came in from the cold

Lia Leendertz goes in search of sweet-smelling winter plants

The stuff of salvation

There’s much more to sage than turkey stuffing, finds Ian Morton

I’m berry fond of you

Lia Leendertz hails holly, a winter wonder and symbol of eternal life

The pen commandments

Harry Pearson chronicles the history of the calligrapher’s art

Doing a sterling job

It’s time to dust off the family silver, says Christopher Wilson

Cuba’s greatest hits

Bolivar savours a new cigar from one of the oldest brands

And much more.