This was a lovely little festive read and I did quite enjoy it. There's a wide array of different stories and I liked the first couple of ones more than the ones in the second half. My favorite ones were The Spirit of Christmas and Christmas in New York especially, and I really enjoyed Winterson's commentary alongside the recipes included, at times even more than the actual stories. I am not a huge fan of whimsical/fairytale-esque/paranormal fiction, so some of these did not work for me, but as a whole this is a lovely collection that I would recommend and I am glad I finally picked it up.

Half festive short stories, half festive recipes from Winterson's friends, I'm not sure this combination works for me. The short stories are for the most part great, but I did find myself skipping through the recipes, including the anecdotes about where they came from.
It's a shame, because there is a great compendium of short stories in here, with some spooky tales to match the cold dark nights, imbued with Winterson's wonderful, rich writing style. I couldn't help but feel that this should be a stand alone item, and then maybe a separate festive cook book.

Enjoyed some stories more than others. Great little festive book, witty and really imaginative, and also includes recipes! Will need to try these...

I requested this book because I was attracted by the beautiful cover and the author.
It is amazing, I read one story at a time and I liked them all.
The book is beautifully written and it's a great Christmas book, not the usual fluffy and feel-good one.
Some stories are creepier and some are sweet, all of them show a different aspect of Christmas.
The recipes are great and I'm curious to try them as they give ideas for cooking Christmas food for pleasure more than for show.
A wonderful book, a real treat that gives you back the pleasure of reading a well written and great book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for this ARC