The best Christmas things aren’t new – and that’s precisely the point

Whether it’s vintage baubles or homemade gifts, there’s joy in a Christmas full of memories and personal touches. Plus, the best coats to keep out the chill this winter

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What’s the Christmas decoration you’ve had the longest? Mine is a set of silver paper streamers that originally belonged to my grandparents (and which, if the price in shillings on the original box is anything to go by, pre-date 1971). When I get them out, I can picture my late dad balanced on a chair, pinning them to my childhood dining room ceiling.

It’s the old, slightly broken stuff that makes Christmas: the things you bring out every year, imbued with Christmases past. “I love finding a prime spot on the tree for a little beaded fairy I got at a fair in primary school,” says Filter audience editor Ella Jinadu. “It has pipe cleaner arms and legs so you can wrap it around the tree in different poses. When the lights catch the beads, it looks fab.”

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