"What is it with you and Christmas trees?"

I love Christmas trees. Love them. I’m like Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2, whose mum knows she will find him in front of the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center when he is lost in New York (“What is it with you and Christmas trees?” she asks him earlier in the film) It’s partly because I’m like a magpie about anything shiny or sparkly. It’s partly because I absolutely adore Christmas and so, of course, Christmas trees evoke happy memories and it’s partly because I enjoy the creativity that comes along with decorating them. I just find them magical. I love seeing pictures of how other people decorate theirs and I love peering into people’s living room windows to catch glimpses of them. I love to visit big ones put up by local authorities or shopping centres. I love looking at baubles and other decorations in shops. I just love Christmas trees.

Thanks to a combination of living abroad and living in shared accommodation, it wasn’t until three years ago that I got a Christmas tre…