'It's insane at times - but super special

TV star and mum-of-five Stacey Solomon on juggling her career with family life, her good fortune in finding husband Joe Swash, and the Christmas traditions she's passing on to her children

- ZARA ZUBEIDI

The logs on the fire are crackling, the fancy candles are lit and the comforting aroma of stew and hot dumplings is filling the air. It can only mean one thing – Christmas is just around the corner at Pickle Cottage, home to Stacey Solomon, husband Joe Swash, and their brood. Befitting of Stacey’s super-organized nature, festive preparations have been well underway for months. She’s even given fans a sneak peek on social media of just a few of the homemade decorations she’s crafted so far, from a life-size nutcracker to a snow globe and giant Christmas bells. And this year she has another special something up her sleeve – an awesome 80s and 90s-inspired Christmas tree, which is a throwback to the one she had growing up.

“My mum brought over a box of all these garish decorations the other day,” Stacey explains excitedly. “It was full of multicolored fairy lights with foil petals, silver tinsel, wooden and plastic ornaments… all the stuff I had as a kid. It’s going to be the tree I put the presents under. I think the kids will love it!”

Christmas was always “a big deal” in the Solomon household, and Stacey, 34 – who is mum to Zachary, 15, Leighton, 11, Rex, four, Rose, two, and 10-month-old Belle – has fond memories of her mum’s traditions that she’s incorporated into her own family’s lives.