ALEXANDRA SHULMAN’S NOTEBOOK: Christmas? It brings out the Stepford Wife in us

I firmly believe that women have only ourselves to blame for talking about Christmas like that. But there's something about the annual celebration that brings out the Stepford woman in most of us.

Men don't really care about Christmas, and if they do, they show little inclination to get involved in the whole preparation. Yet even the least domesticated woman finds it difficult to avoid being swept away in the quest for perfection.

Recently, Kirstie Allsopp, the queen of Christmas shenanigans, said she would be spending the day with her family in a New York hotel.

There are many things I admire about Kirstie and here's one more to add, not only because she's bound to have a lot of fun, but also because she was brave enough to admit she ran off while her career is based on doing all kinds of smart things. with tinsel and a sprig of holly.

I'd also like to spend Christmas in a hotel, but am determined to host at home and have of course started making those wretched lists and considering whether frozen Brussels sprouts would be an acceptable shortcut this year, and whether it should be turkey ? (I made tenderloin last year, so much easier, and it seemed fine.)

However, Christmas is invading us and even those of us least likely to have a color scheme for our wrapping paper are overwhelmed by a nagging urge to at least try to wind a garland of something or other up the stairs and strung Christmas lights around the stairs. place.

Even though there is no one in my house who cares about such things, and I know I am not capable of making such designs, I still consider what to do.

The last time I tried it, I stuck a staple gun through the string of lights and that was that.

I have nothing but admiration for people who transform their homes during the holidays into a model home, scented with nutmeg and pine trees, glittering and cozy.

But I'm baffled as to why, as a conscious adult, I can't accept that this isn't part of my skill set.

The rest of the year I don't feel like being an excellent home stylist. My tables are set with a plate or two, a glass and some cutlery.

I'm a stranger to layering presentation boards and mats, centerpieces and an exotic candle display. But at Christmas, this more basic approach suddenly seems to fall short.

Still, my ambition is clearly not that great, as next week I'm heading somewhere warm for a short break, which will no doubt cause maximum panic when I return to the long, unchecked to-do list before Christmas.

Why the appeal of socks starts in your forties

If you're still thinking about Christmas, at what age do you become the person who thinks that socks are not only an acceptable gift to receive, but also positively welcome – especially if they're cashmere?

A quick poll recently found that the transition point of life in this kind of thinking is in the mid-40s. And soap as a gift? Is that the same age?

We face a future without news evenings

The BBC's decision to ax Newsnight and cut 34 jobs in the program is completely baffling. Politics is the new rock 'n' roll, as the saying goes.

Garden and cookery books are taken off the bestseller lists by political books.

Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart are making a fortune from their podcasts and live shows, while The News Agents, presented by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, is flying high in the podcast charts.

At a time when fashion magazines are suffering massive circulation declines, weekly and monthly political magazines are holding their own.

Newsnight's decision is foolish, made even more foolish by Deborah Turnes, head of the BBC's News and Current Affairs department, who tries to justify it by saying that the Corporation's bosses had listened to the public's feedback and claimed that they had no interest in Newsnight's famous investigations.

Does anyone remember the interview with Maitlis and Prince Andrew not so long ago?

Market research is notoriously inaccurate. Invariably, most people interviewed don't know what they want. They don't know if they like something until they see it and often say they prefer what they think should be preferred rather than what they actually like.

Reducing Newsnight to a cheaper panel discussion (which, incidentally, is a format better suited to radio) simply means that a program that is essential viewing for many every evening is likely to disappear altogether before long.

The hateful Scobie is no threat to the king

Who cares what Omid Scobie writes about the state of the monarchy? Not me, who generally cares about the monarchy, but not about books written by someone whose only authority comes from hanging out on the fringes of royal circles.

I doubt the current and future king and queen are that busy. Scobie is the person who has never really been able to be part of the cool gang, always has his nose pressed against the glass and who is obsessed with getting revenge.

If the future of the monarchy really rests in the hands of someone as unimportant as Scobie, it is in real trouble.

Taylor flies in and then quickly exits

What price friendship? Pretty substantial in the case of Taylor Swift, who showed up on the red carpet for her friend Beyoncé's movie premiere in London on her private jet and then flew back to Kansas before the action was over.

I have a bright idea for the festive season

My tip for the holidays is to wear a brightly colored coat when you go to parties.

I recently went to a great party for the launch of journalist Charles Glass's new book, but the sea of ​​navy blue and black jackets left at the door left many guests on their hands and knees in the room at the end of the party. were rummaging through a pile to find that their own garment was completely indistinguishable in the crowd.