JULIA DONALDSON LIFE STORY

As fans of her best-selling children’s books might expect, Christmas at Julia Donaldson’s house is full of fun. Together with her husband Malcolm, sons Alastair and Jerry and their wives, plus eight grandchildren, the author creates seasonal cheer that wouldn’t seem out of place on the magical pages of her world-famous stories.

“Our family is very musical so whenever we get together there’s. “On Christmas Day, I do a treasure hunt for the children. They have to wait until after lunch to open most of their presents, but before that, I hide one present for each of them and create rhyming clues as to where they are. Everyone troops round to find the presents. It’s great fun.”