Christmas Special: Mince Pies

The seasonal deliciousness of crumbly rich pastry and the sweet, spicy - cinnamon, cloves, plump raisins, sherry and brandy with a strong brew of assam tea is unbeatable. It was today's replacement for a balanced lunch!

Childhood Smells: Christmas Trees

Christmas trees have to be real; Christmas needs the smell of spruce or pine, the deeply green, foresty fragrances among my favourites from walking in woods. My childhood Christmas' were spent at my grandparents' and now each year I buy a real tree and overload it with light and glittering baubles in a re-creation of the ceiling-brushing tree they always had. Presents get stacked up under the tree in their gaudy wrappings for Christmas morning, and we sit together passing out the presents one-by-one. This important ritual by the lit stove is accompanied with a pot of tea and breakfast treats. Mutual torment takes place with parents insisting presents come from Santa, and our kids goading us about our silliness. Their stockings no longer have satsumas in their toes, they rebelled - there are always piles of them in the fruit bowl, so now they get a seasonal bath bomb from Lush.

This smell of pine forests I love so much is found in Olverum bath oil http://www.olverum.com/home, which I put in the bath for a soak before I wash my hair and the fragrance then lingers all around me.

Childhood smells: coughs and sneezes

The school Christmas holidays always seemed to start with diseases for me, pyjamas on the sofa, and in my mother's bathroom cabinet what was 'Vick's vapour rub' has a mentholated smell redolent of the preparations for the festive season.