A Very Foodie Christmas Jamie, Nigella & Mary's Top Tips

Our Favourite Celebrity Chefs Dish Up Advice On Surviving The Big Day

He’s the undisputed king of Christmas – he even has a cookbook dedicated to everything festive.

Jamie Oliver is unashamedly in love with the silly season, though he did make headlines last year when he banned his extended family from Christmas Day, saying it was too stressful. Still, with five kids – Poppy (16), Daisy (15), Petal (9), Buddy (8) and River (2) – Jamie and wife Jools have their hands full!

Festivities start on December 1, he says. “The day the first door is opened on the Advent calendar, that’s when it all begins,” he says, somewhat grimly. “The cheesy seasonal music starts playing on a loop, the kids make colourful paper chains and snowflakes out of white doilies, and we all go a bit crazy.”

A new tradition has started in recent years too – Elf on the Shelf, a magical elf sent by Santa to keep an eye on the kids in the lead-up to Christmas – though Jamie (43) is not convinced. “It freaks me out,” he says. “The kids love it, but every day it moves and that just freaks me out a little bit.”

The tree goes up in the middle of December and because Jools (44) feels sorry for the weirdly shaped ones that no one wants, they always end up with a misshapen blob, which the kids try their best to decorate.

The Olivers’ day starts early, with a 5.30am wake-up call courtesy of his youngest children. Presents are opened and Dad cooks breakfast – fluffy pancakes for the kids and “some version of particularly healthy birdseed” for Jools.