Christmas seems to have snuck up on me this year. One minute we had pumpkins on the doorstep and then, in what seemed like no time at all, the wreath was on the front door and the children were writing their letters to Santa. My son has asked for a ‘working Harry Potter wand’ and my daughter has requested a somewhat less magical ‘head scratcher’ – here’s hoping Santa comes through for both of them!

Christmas Day is usually spent dividing our time between both my husband and my family as we are lucky enough to live close to both sides; this year we have the pleasure of hosting and I’m looking forward to putting the radio on and spending a good length of time in the kitchen, something that I rarely get to do any more!

One of the more recent family traditions has been spending Boxing Day morning at the Pagham Pram Race. Pagham residents do an incredible job getting into full costume and racing vintage prams, often that have been turned into amazing designs on wheels, around the streets of Pagham to raise money for local good causes. Until you’ve seen a full Black Pearl ship wheel past you, complete with the cast of the Pirates of the Caribbean, you can’t appreciate the effort residents put in, and Pagham comes out in force to support.

My son is one of the talented cast performing ‘A Boy Called Christmas’ at Chichester Festival Theatre over the festive period so aside from being taxi driver, I’ve had the pleasure of watching the fantastic production twice. Every year, I am astounded at the level of professionalism the young people demonstrate, and this show has been a resounding success on the 40th anniversary year of Chichester Festival Youth Theatre.

I hope every reader of the Observer series has a happy and healthy Christmas surrounded by loved ones. I encourage my team to take a well-earned break over the festive period, but my inbox will still be monitored for emergency cases. If you need my support, please email [email protected]