Related content and features

This page brings together the FT’s seasonal coverage, featuring expert wine and food recommendations, recipes and the year’s best books. There are also gift guides from our Style editors and an introduction to this year’s FT charity Action Against Hunger. The page will be updated regularly in the run-up to Christmas with further ideas and recommendations.

Gift guides

Gift guide: One week before Christmas

Presents that make it seem you have spent forever considering the recipient’s innermost desires

Three weeks before Christmas

Christmas gift guide: From make-up kits to shaving serums, here are some beauty and grooming treats for an indulgent new year

Five weeks before Christmas

Holiday gift guide: A selection of wonderful daywear for outside, inside and all around the town, from luxurious scarves to must-have boots

Kitbag: Christmas gifts

A clever wheelbarrow, classic boots or a charming, shaggy update on the traditional rocking horse might just be on the wishlist of your gardening friends

Two weeks before Christmas

Little things such as minimally chic and reassuringly low-key accessories can have a big impact

Four weeks before Christmas

Let the allure of eveningwear cast its spell, from crystal-smothered Jimmy Choo shoes to a Giorgio Armani black velvet jacket

Six weeks before Christmas

In the interest of happy holiday-making, here are recommendations designed not only to delight their recipients but also to make your life easier

... and the gift collection point

How to decorate Christmas trees is dictated both by family tradition and personal style, from regimented color schemes to mismatched ornaments. Interiors experts reveal their yuletide rituals

Books

Nonfiction round-up

From the art of Albrecht Dürer to ‘Zombie Economics’, FT critics pick their favourites of 2010

Fiction round-up

From tales of 18th-century Japan to pre-revolutionary Havana, FT critics pick their favourites of 2010

From catwalk to coffee table

Vanessa Friedman on fashion in book form

Chef talk: Cooking the books

The best culinary books for Christmas, recommended by Heston Blumenthal, Stephen Terry and other men and women who should know

Between the leaves

Gardening books have been having a good year, with plenty that can be given with confidence for Christmas. Robin Lane Fox rakes over some titles on offer

Style

Silk pyjamas or tiger stripes?

Susie Boyt says we all know what is meant by the dress code ‘birthday suit’, but wonders what clothes best suit Christmas day

Frock around the clock

Lucinda Rosenfeld and Susie Boyt on the essential qualities of a great party dress for the festive season

Pick-me-up and recovery kit

The season places extra demands on women and Anna-Marie Solowij recommends the use of Clarins’ Beauty Flash Balm, whose line-smoothing, gravity-defying and ravage-reducing effects are instantaneous

Must-have: long leather gloves

This winter, forget woolly mittens and glam it up with gauntlets – twinned with emerald satin party dresses at Yves Saint Laurent or under rolled-up shirt sleeves at Dries Van Noten

Foldable shoes

As the festive season approaches, we look at foldable shoes designed by entrepreneurs to take the pain out of partying

FOOD AND DRINK

A feast at your table

Most professional chefs are ‘last-minuters’ when it comes to the big day. Rowley Leigh, an old hand at the Christmas game, shows how to cook against the clock

Leftovers, put to rights

Forget turkey sandwiches: return the bird to its Mesoamerican roots by cooking it in chilli-enlivened hash, using meat stripped from the carcass and shredded, says Simon Schama

The taste test: Two Christmas classics

Paxton & Whitfield’s bespoke ‘Stilton Cutting’ is at its delicious, creamy peak, while nicely egg-glazed mince pies from patisserie Konditor & Cook are a clear winner

Christmas puddings

The pick of ready-made and exotic plum puddings

Taste test: Gourmet crisps

A packet of Kettle Chips made with select potatoes and oak-aged Modena vinegar prevails over 14 products from boutique manufacturers, ranging from the upmarket to the unpleasant

Revel with a cause

A fabulous party with a conscience: that’s the goal of the moment

Sparkling results

Jancis Robinson looks at various champagnes for Christmas drinking – nothing in excess, just the sort you’d be thrilled with at a party

Do the white thing

From the fresh and zesty to the assertive, exotically rich and flamboyant, Jancis Robinson presents a selection of white wines with real distinction

On red alert

Jancis Robinson selects festive wines that go well with celebratory meals and their sweet accompaniments, from bordeaux bargains to underpriced offerings from the Languedoc

Rich pickings

In the last of her festive guides, Jancis Robinson picks strong and sweet wines. Lovely soft, long-aged taste of the sea, what sailor could resist this?

Punch above your weight

The world’s top bartenders mix up their favourite decadent drinks for the Christmas season, from fruitcake-infused brandy to Creole coffee

Travel

Christmas around the world

From baby Jesus-shaped breads to poolside barbecues, FT correspondents give a flavour of how the cities they cover will celebrate the season

The Savoy’s £220m revamp

After a £220m refurbishment and nearly three years, the grande dame of the city’s hotels, which has an unmatchable heritage, will be welcoming patrons again

Alpine ambition

High-end Swiss resorts are having to reinvent themselves to meet the demand for luxurious properties, with year-round attractions elevating the chalet to a new level