Pull a Cracker - Jo Malone Style

It just wouldn't be Christmas without crackers to start the day off with a bang - but let's face it, we've heard pretty much every Christmas cracker joke there is going. If you ask me it's about time this festive staple was given a shake-up with desirable treats to fight for over Christmas dinner. Cue Jo Malone...

Nothing will make your Christmas go with a bang like a Jo Malone Christmas cracker. No plastic jumping frogs and so called 'magic' calculators here! Inside you'll find little treasures even more desirable than gold frankincense and myrrh - that's miniature bottles of Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Hand & Body Wash, Lime, Basil & Mandarin Cologne and Orange Blossom Body Cream. Divine!

Fringe Benefits

Taking inspiration from the likes of Zooey Deschanel and Foxes I've been and had my Rapunzel-esque locks chopped. OK, OK, it might not actually be that noticable given that it's still waist skimming in length and I had to stand up whilst the hairdresser worked her magic with the scissors - the main change is that I've had a blunt fringe cut back in.

I've never been one to mess around with colour too much, sticking with my natural dark brunette colouring, but looking at Alexa Chung's plaits I might just be tempted to break out the brightly coloured hair chalks next.

J Crew Jewellery

God bless America, home of the brave and land of some of my favourite brands! What's more, those generous Yanks don't keep all the good stuff to themselves. First they gave us Banana Republic, Forever 21 and Victoria's Secret, and now J Crew has joined the ranks and followed their compatriots over to our shores.

A favourite of America's first lady, J Crew is well worth a look if it's a label new to you. I particularly love their range of statement costume jewellery. You sure know when you've got this white paste-set beauty hanging around your neck (pictured left, £165), but boy it's worth it!

White goes with everything, right? I'll be wearing this necklace, my first J Crew purchase, throughout the festive season whether with a cocktail dress for Christmas drinks or to add a little sparkle to a relaxed jeans and jumper combo.

Merry Christmas Jumper Day!

Friday 13th December is now officially Christmas Jumper Day - and I make that the perfect excuse to publish a pic of Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, aka the most famous Christmas jumper wearer of all time...

Calm down ladies and let's all take a moment to remember the happy time before Helen Fielding bumped off her leading man, but when Christmas jumpers weren't an ironic style statement but an annual embarrassment to be endured. Fast forward 10 years or so and Colin actually looks quite the hipster, brooding in his Rudolph sweater. Who knows, maybe this was the turning point when we all decided novelty knits were actually OK after all? However much we all drooled the dripping wet white shirt Mr Darcy look, it was never going to take off as a viable menswear trend.

Whatever its appeal, the Christmas jumper is now being lauded as the saviour of the High Street as we all rush out to buy one, but before I invest in a novelty knit I need to clear one thing up - is it the point to find the most garish knit known to man or is a nice Nordic intarsia acceptable?

Spot the Difference: Smoking Slippers

I may be only 5'3" but I still love flat shoes. You don't have to put up with pinched toes or snapped heels when comfy smoking slippers and ballet pumps are this stylish. Even Victoria Beckham has given her bunions a break of late by taking baby steps over to the flat side. For the festive season you can't beat these Jimmy Choo navy and bronze brocade slippers, but at £425 a pair they could easily take up your entire Christmas budget, so to make sure there's still turkey on the table I've found a great budget option. Nine West have a strikingly similar pair of brocade slippers reduced from £95 - £49 at Kurt Geiger at he moment. Can you spot the difference?

Hello Possums!

There's nothing like a dame and Stella McCartney knows it! Why else would the designer be so eager to secure the services of our all time favourite antipodean to turn on the Christmas lights at her Bruton Street store?

Speaking to Vogue ahead of the switch on Stella said: 'The brief is to have fun. I have been dying to get Dame Edna for so long, I'm chuffed.' And she was lucky to get her - Dame Edna Everage is quite in demand at the moment, but managed to squeeze in another glamorous public appearance in between farewell shows and rubbing shoulders with royalty.

If she/he hadn't been able to make it at least we know Stella would have made a great stand-in.
Look closer - yes, this is none other than Stella McCartney paying homage to Dame Edna complete with purple wig and butterfly-rim specs! Come on, we've all done it, haven't we? Well I'm happy to admit I used to attempt to entertain my family with bad Dame Edna impressions. No point denying it when there's video evidence!

Magic & Sparkle from M&S

December is here and the advent calendar can at last be opened, but for a lot of people it's just not Christmas until that bright red Coca-Cola truck has heralded the start of the holiday season. Love it or hate it, the truth is that adverts are becoming more and more a part of the Christmas countdown as brands compete for our attention with catchy tunes and a whole host of famous faces in a bid to get us to part from our hard earned cash. This year Morrisons may have Ant & Dec and John Lewis may have Lily Allen and a very cute story of the bear who'd never seen Christmas, but in my humble opinion it's Marks & Spencer who've stolen the show with this extravaganza of an ad starring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, David Gandy and Helena Bonham-Carter. Ooh, love the shoes!