When the first group of carol singers knock on her front door, Louisa Nicholls gears up for Christmas taking her garden clippers and her eleven year old daughter Phoebe on a walk with a purpose. ‘We scan the hedgerows for berries, ivy, fir cones, branches and even sticks. It is surprising what you can find.’ Louisa smiles adding that apart from presents and Christmas lunch, all she should need to buy this year are candles, white roses and more batteries for her fairly lights and possibly another silver paint spray can. Louisa’s annual recipe for Christmas decorating is simplicity itself, creating a festive look with mostly natural ingredients and candles, probably as previous owners would have done over centuries past.