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00:00Wow. One, two, three. Wow. But it comes with a long list of jobs. It's always good fun with
00:11logistics like this and a tree this big. Especially if you live in an enormous chateau.
00:18There's a lot more work involved than we ever imagined. We're following intrepid owners.
00:23Take the weight. Ow, I just trapped my hand. As they prepare for the festive season in France.
00:31Crunch time is pretty soon. We'll witness the highs. That is fantastic. You're so clever.
00:38Christmas has officially begun. The lows. This is literally chateau life. Ten steps backwards,
00:46one step forward. The joy. Welcome to our Christmas wonderland. Exactly what Christmas is about.
00:53Three, two, one. And magic. Yay! Look at the chateau.
01:00As they turn their castles into a winter wonderland. Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas.
01:11Today, a chateau pair pray their chapel renovation doesn't go up in smoke.
01:19It's looking a bit more dirty and dusty than I remember it.
01:22Tensions rise at a family party. I don't know if we'll be keeping the angel demon.
01:28He's an Italian clown. Who has Italian clowns on their tree?
01:34And one couple's Christmas idea reaches dizzying heights.
01:38As long as I don't look down, I won't feel giddy.
01:42In the Languedoc region of southern France lies the impressive 19th century Chateau du Puy-et-Prin.
02:00Set on a former winemaking estate, this lavish property has 39 rooms and was bought for ÂŁ390,000 in 2003.
02:15Off we go.
02:16By Tim, a photographer, and Sasha, a former fashion designer, who are handing over the Christmas reigns to daughter Lily and son-in-law Luke.
02:30It's so lovely that Tim and Sasha have trusted us enough to deal with all of the visual aspects of it, the decorations and the stylings of it.
02:39Everything, I think, is going to look fantastic.
02:41Well, we have to keep it simple so we don't overdo it in such a large space.
02:46I don't think Tim and Sasha like the word simple, do they?
02:50They don't.
02:56Located an hour and a half's drive from Toulouse,
03:00last year they pulled out all the Christmas stops with a magical wedding.
03:06And this year, the pressure is on Luke and Lily as they've been put in charge of hosting a huge party to thank all their suppliers.
03:21We've got a week to get everything ready, get all the decorations done, get all the preparations in the kitchen, getting everything really Christmassy.
03:30This is the first time we've been left in charge of Christmas, so it's quite exciting and I hope we can make it really special.
03:36Their first idea is to transform the courtyard into a winter wonderland.
03:43Are we going to do the bubbles first?
03:45I honestly don't mind, whatever you want.
03:47To start with, they want to brighten up the existing lights.
03:53You want it on each cable connector?
03:57Yeah.
04:00There we go, the first one.
04:03It's going to look great.
04:06While Luke and Lily continue outside...
04:10A little bit higher.
04:13..inside the chateau...
04:15You've got to get your reindeer in the middle, for goodness sake.
04:20..Tim and Sasha are already in the Christmas spirit.
04:25This is the box I packed last year.
04:28And it has in it a Christmas tree that Lily created...
04:34..all these stars.
04:40Lily cooked, baked in the oven when she was a kid.
04:46Oh, great!
04:49Wow, it still works!
04:52Christmas is about memories.
04:54It might be a silly piece of art that your child made when they were three years old.
05:02But it still has a place on the Christmas tray.
05:05She might want me to move it, mind you.
05:07They may be taking a back seat, but they can't resist getting involved.
05:14I hoard everything.
05:18You've got one working?
05:19These work.
05:20OK, good.
05:23It's already starting to feel Christmassy.
05:27I'm really liking how it's starting to look.
05:29And I can't wait until the last ones are up so we can see it as a completed decoration.
05:33But with a courtyard to finish, a wine barn to deck out, and a festive feast to prepare,
05:46the bells for Christmas wouldn't be ringing for Luke and Lily soon.
05:51In the beautiful Dordogne region of south-west France
06:03is the impressive 14th-century Château Domaine de la Barde.
06:11Set in ten acres, this former hotel comprises of 32 charming rooms,
06:18several outbuildings, and stunning formal gardens.
06:25Since 2020, it's been lovingly restored by Tim and Chris,
06:32who live here with Owen and baby Oliver.
06:37This Christmas is very, very special, especially for Oliver,
06:41because this is his first Christmas.
06:45What's wonderful about doing it in a château is it's so much bigger
06:48that you can have more and more people,
06:49so it just becomes a really beautiful day.
06:57Located 100 miles east of Bordeaux,
07:01Tim and Chris run the château as a high-end B&B.
07:06And last year...
07:07Welcome to our Christmas wonderland.
07:10...they hosted a festive gingerbread house competition.
07:13Everyone is a winner! Bravo! Bravo!
07:22For this Christmas, the couple are planning to host a big party for their friends.
07:29And hope to impress their guests by renovating the château's huge stairwell.
07:35So the stairwell, it really is monumental, it's medieval,
07:42so it will be great to do the whole medieval theme.
07:44It's about old weapons and tapestries and hunting and that kind of feel.
07:52We like to make the château as magical as possible.
07:55It's going to look magnificent, I'm sure.
07:57To help out, Tim's roped in builder mate Steve and brother Ben.
08:06Once we've got the first two sets of legs built,
08:11we can then attach side rails and put the next two sets of legs on.
08:15First, they want to hang some lights,
08:17which on a château scale means building an eight-metre-high scaffolding tower.
08:28This should do it, I think.
08:32It makes my life a lot safer.
08:34I don't want to be doing it off ladders.
08:36I never really want to work off sort of five foot higher.
08:39This is the way forward.
08:44But it's all very heavy.
08:47As long as I don't look down, I won't feel giddy.
08:55While Tim has his hands full,
08:58in the salon,
09:00Chris and Owen have their own Christmas project.
09:04Colour, do more colouring for me.
09:07As they want to carry on the family tradition
09:09of making personalised decorations for the tree.
09:17This year is very special because it's Oliver, our baby, first Christmas.
09:25I love this picture.
09:27That's when he was sleeping when he was so tiny.
09:30Once we've cut the picture into shape, we're going to glue it and then we're going to varnish it so it lasts a long time.
09:39And Oliver will be finally part of our Christmas tree with all the family's pictures.
09:45I've just got one more to cut and we're going to go outside to glue it because I've got this spray.
09:54Here we go.
09:55What do you think about this one?
09:57Look, it's you and Oliver.
09:58Do you like that one?
10:00Do you like that one?
10:01Yeah.
10:02Is that a yes or a no?
10:03Yes.
10:04Yes.
10:05Having got the thumbs up from Owen,
10:08the family's Christmas plans are up and running.
10:12Look.
10:14Plus noise.
10:17But with the stairwell to renovate…
10:20Right.
10:21Watch me stained glass window.
10:23…and a party to organise, Tim and Chris's festive workload shows no sign of lightning.
10:37Still to come, a chateau pair need more than Christmas spirit to fix their chapel.
10:43I want to see a big crack at the front.
10:47And the Christmas lights go out for Tim.
10:50I can't see how I remove this without breaking it.
11:01In the Giron département of South West France is the delightful 15th century Chateau La Gorce.
11:12This stunning property sits in 71 acres and boasts its own private lake.
11:19Whilst inside, it comprises of 22 grand rooms.
11:27The Chateau was bought in 2003 for ÂŁ890,000 and is home to Edward, Anna and children Emma and Charles.
11:42Christmas is absolutely magical for the kids at the Chateau because it's the only time that we try and take off and just spend time with them and do things with them.
11:54Because everything is so big, it means there's a bigger tree.
11:57And so for our kids, when it's a bigger tree, they're expecting more presents, aren't they?
12:03Located 15 miles from the city of Bordeaux, Anna and Edward run the Chateau as a summer wedding venue.
12:18And last time celebrated Christmas by baking some homemade mince pies.
12:27Mmm. This is really nice.
12:32Really good. Merry Christmas, Anna. Merry Christmas, Ed.
12:40This year, Chef Edward is eager to experiment by pushing the boat out for Christmas dinner.
12:49I'm going to be trying something a little bit different this year.
12:53In France, there's a tradition to do a three-bird roast of chicken, duck and turkey.
13:01I'm just hoping that when it's cooked, it all kind of comes together.
13:05It could come out a bit of a problem, really, but we'll see.
13:10But first, they need to ensure the Chateau is looking its festive best
13:16and are eager to decorate their tired holy chapel in time for the big day.
13:23The chapel is looking pretty sad at the minute.
13:26It's been a little bit neglected.
13:28The floorboards are needing a good hard waxing
13:31and all the furniture is just looking a bit sorry for itself, really.
13:35And we want to make it extra special for Christmas time.
13:40OK, right.
13:42The chapel is full of old antiques
13:45and some have extra significance.
13:48So these chairs have been in here since, well, before we got here,
13:53and it's part of the family that owned it maybe in the 1800s.
13:56They have the initials of some of the owners.
13:59It's rare to have something like this,
14:01so it's very important to us that these are well taken care of.
14:06It could be a slow process, as the chapel hasn't been touched in more than two decades.
14:18It's looking a bit more dirty and dusty than I remember it.
14:23First job is to give it a good Christmas clean.
14:27Tackling the cobwebs for a person that is pretty short is hard.
14:32But with this, it helps.
14:35Edward has a bigger festive challenge, as the centuries-old altar is in need of repair.
14:44And I've got a bit of woodwork to do, because right now we're leaving these little drapes like this,
14:50and it's a shame, because they shouldn't be there, they should be here at the back,
14:56so you can see all the lovely carved wood.
14:59With this being a little bit broken, we've had to keep the velvet in front.
15:06All Edward can hope is that it's an easy fix.
15:10Is it the right size? Nope. I think it's like that.
15:17There we go. So I know that it goes that way around.
15:26It's gone in well.
15:27I now have to try and get the pieces back towards it.
15:31I want to see a big crack at the front.
15:37That's better.
15:39That's a top job. That'll do me.
15:42A lot easier than I thought, to be honest.
15:47That's good.
15:49I'm happy with that.
15:51It's a case of so far, so good.
15:54And then, yeah, we've got to clean it up and give it a polish.
16:02Should have got the kids doing this. Could have practised brushing the teeth.
16:05It's set to be a painstaking task, and with the floor still to restore, and the rest of the furniture to repair, Anna and Edward's Christmas prayers are far from being answered.
16:20In southern France, at Chateau du Puy-et-Prin.
16:33Nearly done though, aren't we?
16:34Yeah, it shouldn't take us too long.
16:35It's five days until Luke and Lily host their first Christmas party, and the courtyard is beginning to sparkle.
16:45You can never have too many baubles.
16:47The lights are working, they're looking fantastic, and I cannot wait to see them at night time.
16:54With the outside looking Christmassy, they need to get the wine barn to twinkle.
17:01I think this is going to take me a week.
17:05Starting with the table decorations.
17:08It doesn't matter how you package them up after Christmas.
17:13The following year you take them out, they get very badly tangled.
17:19But once it's done, it's worth it.
17:22There we go, we're untangled.
17:24Which is just as well as Tim and Sasha are here with the Christmas trees.
17:32Oh, it was a devil to get in the car.
17:35Just fits.
17:41Yeah, this is a good-sized tree.
17:43It's going to fit over really nicely there, I think.
17:44I can't wait until it's cut open, and we can start decorating.
17:51It's absolutely massive.
17:52Perfect, perfect.
17:54Well, that works well, though, doesn't it?
17:55It does work well, yeah.
17:57Having got the seal of approval, Tim's also bought a smaller one for inside the chateau.
18:05And that's a perfect shape. Looks fab.
18:08I'm actually going to plug the lights in.
18:11There we go.
18:14This job here was €29, and I got someone to put the lights on, so...
18:19It's a win-win situation, really.
18:21I'm charged by the bulb, actually.
18:22You're charged by the bulb, actually.
18:24There we go.
18:26I'm so pleased with this tree.
18:29Thank you, Luke, very much.
18:30You're welcome.
18:32With the tree starting to shine...
18:35Darlene, it's bauble time.
18:39Sasha wants to add her own Christmas touches.
18:42I've had this for, I'd say, 40 years, and he has always been on top of the Christmas tree.
18:55Lily will take one look and have a fit, and we'll see how quickly she notices.
19:02It might not take long, as Lily is a real stickler for detail.
19:10Right, I think we're at a good place for this now.
19:15We'll just, er, need to do the star at some point.
19:18No, it looks really good.
19:19I'm really happy with the colour stylings and everything of this tree.
19:22I'm looking forward to when everyone walks in and sees it for the first time.
19:26Well, I think we should go and check out some Miss Sasha's tree.
19:28Yeah.
19:29We like to go over the top, you know.
19:34That's not over the top.
19:36If you were selling a Christmas tree, that is your shock.
19:39That is a Christmas tree.
19:41Here they come.
19:45Lovely.
19:47Festive.
19:48Very festive.
19:49Feels like Christmas.
19:50It's Christmas.
19:51Yeah.
19:52Yeah, it goes really well there.
19:53That's sweet.
19:55I, er, I don't know if we'll be keeping the angel demon at the top.
19:58I hate you demon.
19:59He's not a demon.
20:00He's an Italian clown.
20:01He's a clown.
20:02Italian clown.
20:03Who has Italian clowns on there tree?
20:04Hmm.
20:06Aww.
20:07Aww.
20:09Sasha may have lost the battle.
20:12Aww.
20:13But with the Christmas trees up and the wine barn looking festive,
20:18at least Luke and Lily's party plans are starting to gather pace.
20:29Over in the Dordogne at Chateau Domaine de la Barde.
20:35It is feeling quite Arctic.
20:36I reckon we'll get snow at this sort of altitude.
20:39Tim's finally finished building an eight metre high scaffolding tower in the medieval stairwell.
20:47But no, this is perfect.
20:48This is exactly where I need to be.
20:51Hang a light.
20:53Beautiful.
20:55To make the space shine in time for their Christmas party tomorrow,
21:00Tim's bought three giant festive bauble lights.
21:04So my objective is to have each light at a different height.
21:12I've been given this very short bit of chain.
21:15I need to extend an awful lot.
21:17The smallest one is going to be a metre.
21:19The longest one is probably going to be two metres.
21:21So I could open a big can of worms doing this.
21:24These just come out like this, which is easy enough.
21:29So I know the wiring is going to go down into here.
21:32I don't know that I'm actually getting any of this.
21:37I can't see how I remove this without breaking it.
21:42Always the case that everything takes longer than you first expect.
21:59Ta-da!
22:00Thank God for that. Only two more to do.
22:05While Tim can at least see the light,
22:09Chris is eager to ready one of the several centuries-old tapestries.
22:14I'm just checking that there's no holes on it.
22:20You bought it from someone who inherited it from his grandma.
22:25I love this tapestry because of the scenery.
22:30It's quite romantic, quite sweet, and it's got really nice colours.
22:34But basically it's the dimension of it. It's big, and we need big things in the chateau.
22:41So yeah, it fits what we're going for.
22:43Good.
22:45It's in good condition. I'm very pleased with it.
22:49Yeah, it's ready when Tim's ready to put it up.
22:51The pressure is on for Tim.
22:56Possibly about there. No.
22:59But first, he has to find a way to hang his Christmas baubles.
23:04Maybe like there.
23:08That might need to be a bit lower.
23:11You need to go higher a bit with that one.
23:14How about the small one? A bit lower?
23:18Did you just take that higher?
23:21They all need to be slightly lower maybe.
23:23Yeah, okay.
23:25It's hard to tell, isn't it, because the scaffolding is in the way so you can't really see it.
23:30What does it look like from down the bottom?
23:32Oh, yeah.
23:37Yeah, okay.
23:39If you're happy with that, with the heights, I'm happy.
23:42Yeah, I'm happy with that.
23:44We can leave it at those heights, that's great.
23:47I just want to get the scaffolding down so I can see what it actually looks like lit.
23:53It's beginning to come together.
23:56I've got your tapestry, Tim.
23:59But with the rest of the stairwell to dress,
24:03and a Christmas party still to plan,
24:06Tim and Chris won't be popping the festive fizz for some time to come.
24:17Coming up.
24:18It's the moment of truth for Luke and his special festive tipple.
24:24Oh, wow, that's strong.
24:27And Ed's Christmas dinner could be a recipe for disaster.
24:31I've got quite a bit, just not three different birds as such.
24:35Birds as such.
24:43In the Languedoc region of southern France,
24:46it's the day before Luke and Lily host their first Christmas party.
24:51And they're cooking up a feast in the kitchen.
24:56We're going to be stuffing mushrooms.
24:58I have a blend of onions, leeks and mushrooms
25:02that I'm just going to sweat off for a little while now.
25:05And then I'll be adding in some sage that Liz collected from the garden for me
25:09and some garlic.
25:14Lily, meanwhile, is making a Christmas classic.
25:17I'm on the pigs and blankets with a French twist.
25:21We're using Saucisse de Toulouse for these sausages.
25:25We couldn't get chipolatas, so it was a perfect way to get a French twist in it.
25:30I'm just portioning them up, then I'll wrap them in the bacon.
25:33And I think we'll be able to trial a few later on, won't we?
25:37I think we will.
25:40Luke actually does most of the cooking at home.
25:42Sometimes I can probably be a little bit over-controlling, would you say?
25:47No comments.
25:49Yeah.
25:51But most of the time at home, I just let him do it.
25:54We're nearly done with this.
25:56The stuffing smells absolutely incredible.
26:00With the mushrooms almost prepped,
26:03and the pigs in blankets baking...
26:06It smells good. It smells like Christmas.
26:09Luke's eager to test his Christmas cocktails.
26:14Mmm, that is so good.
26:17This is a cocktail called Santa's Little Helper.
26:21It is a blend of spiced rum, red vermouth, cider, simple syrup,
26:28cloves, cinnamon, all mixed together.
26:34Whoo!
26:36Wow, that's strong.
26:37Oh, look at this!
26:39Not one's to miss out.
26:41Tim and Sasha want to try the drinks and nibbles themselves.
26:46Take a seat.
26:48Hello. Thank you.
26:50I'm going to start you off with a mistletoe margarita
26:53with cranberries and lime,
26:56so it's just got that Christmas twist to it.
26:58But you've only got one glass there.
27:00I have.
27:01It's a taste.
27:03Oh, that's delicious.
27:05It's really delicious, yeah.
27:07We've got some pigs and blankets going on here.
27:10Oh, boy.
27:12These are just divine.
27:14So good.
27:16They're good, aren't they?
27:18The next one I'm going to do for you now is Rudolph's red nose.
27:21Can I rename it?
27:25I'm in heaven.
27:27I'm in heaven.
27:29It seems Tim and Sasha have certainly been won over.
27:33We've never been looked after so well.
27:34No.
27:36By our daughter and son-in-law.
27:38I've never seen so many cocktails in a row.
27:41They've done brilliantly.
27:42Absolutely brilliantly.
27:43Of course they have.
27:44I'm so impressed.
27:46It's proved to be a big hit.
27:49All Luke and Lily can hope
27:51is they get the same festive cheer from their guests tomorrow.
27:55In the southwest of France, at Chateau Lagos.
28:06I've kind of broken the back of this.
28:09And it's not broken my back, so they're doing all right.
28:13Edward and Anna are still sprucing up the chapel
28:18they're eager to have ready for Christmas.
28:21It's really starting to take shape now
28:23and I think, of course, when I do the floor
28:26it's going to make a huge difference.
28:29Getting it in every little nut and cranny there.
28:34We just want it to look nice.
28:37There's not a moment to waste.
28:40With so much to prepare before the big day,
28:44they don't have much time.
28:47This hard works.
28:48Keep it looking nice and shiny.
28:53Last little home straight now.
29:00It's pretty much finished the floor.
29:03It's already looking really, really good.
29:06Nearly finished the floor.
29:08Finished the floor.
29:11All done.
29:13Pretty darn happy.
29:14It's gone well.
29:15We're waiting for the floor to dry.
29:18Add on the last little bits
29:20and then the chapel will be back to its former glory.
29:24Yeah.
29:26Owning a chateau of this magnitude
29:28means the renovations never stop.
29:31But Edward has bigger things to fry.
29:35As he's taking on the challenge of making a Christmas three-bird dinner.
29:41Using turkey, duck and chicken.
29:44I've cooked quite a bit, just not three different birds as such.
29:53This looks quite big.
29:55Really not used to turkey breast.
29:58I'm particularly fussy when it comes to food.
30:07Let's see how this is looking now.
30:10Turkey is wrapping round quite nicely.
30:14That's what I was aiming for.
30:16Rather than sage and onion stuffing, I want to put a bit of sage in with butter and thyme.
30:26I think I'm ready.
30:33The whole point to wrapping it is to make this sausage shape.
30:37And when we cut it, it presents really well.
30:42Edward's giving it an extra seal as he wants to experiment by cooking it the sous vide way.
30:51There we go, that's ready to go.
30:53So, three hours before we eat, I'm going to pop that in the water.
30:57It's proved to be relatively straightforward.
31:01And with just the veg to prepare.
31:04Carrots are quite Christmassy.
31:07And that all-important jus.
31:10Little bit of red wine.
31:13Anna and Edward's festive plans are heating up nicely.
31:17Over in the Dardogne region.
31:29Put it wherever you want to.
31:33It's already beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
31:37I think my favourite is this one.
31:42Owen and Chris have finished off the family's personalised tree.
31:48While Tim has been working wonders on their medieval stairwell.
31:54The lights are working. We've got a few tapestries up.
31:58Everything's really good.
32:00I absolutely love the lights. It's perfect.
32:02It's exactly what we want it to look like.
32:05It still requires some finishing touches.
32:09But with their guests due in just half an hour,
32:12Tim's first eager to prep his niche party food.
32:18Well, it's Christmas time.
32:21Everybody loves Brussels sprouts.
32:23And even people that don't like Brussels sprouts can be made to like Brussels sprouts.
32:27What I'm going to do is I'm going to roast these off in curry oil to give me a nice Christmas Brussels sprout curry.
32:33I'll do a Brussels sprout gel fraise, and then I'll do a Brussels sprout korma.
32:40I don't want to make anything too spicy.
32:43With the sprouts left to roast.
32:49OK, here we go.
32:51It's just a matter of adding some last-minute colour to the stairwell.
32:55The deep red, sort of plush velvet look of the curtain, you know, it's kind of old and medieval.
33:03It just helped bring this stairwell to life.
33:06Decide what you think best.
33:09I don't like the look of it.
33:15There.
33:17What do you think?
33:18Infinitely better.
33:20I wanted weaponry.
33:22I wanted taxidermy.
33:24Rural France thrives on hunting.
33:27So I want to include that.
33:32Magnificent.
33:36Just a few days ago, the chateau stairwell was bare, dull and dated.
33:44Now, it's been given a new lease of life.
33:49The striking opulent lights give it a focal point.
33:57While the addition of centuries-old tapestries, stylish furnishings and relics create that medieval magic of a bygone era.
34:12And they finished just in time.
34:15Doing great. Love it.
34:20Got lots of people. The chateau is full.
34:24And we're very happy because this is what Christmas is about.
34:27With everyone in the party mood, Tim's ready to reveal his latest pride and joy.
34:34Oh, wow.
34:36Oh, wow.
34:37Oh, wow.
34:39Oh, wow.
34:41Yes.
34:42And it certainly seems to have made an impression.
34:45The lights and the tapestries look lovely.
34:46Yeah, we're very impressed.
34:47Very nice.
34:48And it's absolutely beautiful.
34:49It's a stairway to heaven.
34:50Simple as that.
34:51It's been a great success.
34:52And the party celebrations can truly begin.
35:06This is a beautiful family Christmas.
35:09It's what Demand de la Varde was always meant for.
35:12It's a beautiful big family home.
35:14And we just want to share it with our friends.
35:17It's absolutely fantastic.
35:18Everybody's happy.
35:19The kids are having a blast.
35:21I'm having a blast.
35:22It's joyous.
35:23Merry Christmas!
35:24It's a great way to start the season of goodwill.
35:31And it looks like this Christmas party will last long into the night.
35:42Still to come.
35:44It's Christmas crunch time for Edward's three-bird dinner.
35:48Unfortunately, we seem to have lost the chicken.
35:51And Luke and Lily have a special festive surprise.
35:54No one knows what's happening.
35:56Yeah, it's going to be good fun.
35:57It's going to be so much fun.
36:04In the Gironde département of southwest France, Christmas is in the air.
36:11Cheers, Ed.
36:13As Anna and Edward's three-bird Christmas dinner is coming along nicely.
36:18Oh, that's looking good.
36:22It all seems to be running like clockwork.
36:26So while the feast is left to cook, the couple hope to celebrate in style by finishing decorating the chapel.
36:36Let's see.
36:37The chapel is looking really good.
36:42With the stained floor dry, they just need to add back the restored chairs.
36:49It's looking so much better in there, a lot cleaner, a lot tidier, and kind of gleaming.
36:59And it wouldn't be complete without candles.
37:03It feels really nice to have the chapel looking good again.
37:14That's it now.
37:16It's brilliant to see it like this.
37:17All nice and neat.
37:19Amazing.
37:20Having been left neglected for two decades, this once unloved chapel
37:28has been transformed back to its former glory.
37:36By freshening up the antique altar, sprucing up the floor and old chairs,
37:44the chapel is reborn in time for Christmas.
37:48The chapel is looking fantastic.
37:51Such a relief now that the chapel is looking good and feeling like it's being taken care of.
37:58And we're going to keep that up now.
38:01The scene is set for the festive season.
38:04Christmas time is the best time.
38:07But with daughter Emma and son Charles getting hungry...
38:12The most important clients of the year have arrived.
38:15Edward just hopes his Christmas three-bird dinner also pays off.
38:23It is smelling so good and it looks fantastic.
38:27I'm quite happy with how the duck and the turkey is looking.
38:31Unfortunately, we seem to have lost the chicken.
38:34It's become part of the turkey.
38:37But it can't complain.
38:39It all seems very well cooked.
38:41It's a case of so far, so good.
38:46Getting ready to serve.
38:48But it still needs everyone's approval.
38:52Is it hot, Shushu?
38:57Mm-mm.
38:58Good?
38:59Yeah.
39:01I'm very, very happy.
39:02The food is beautiful.
39:04Daddy, I like what you did.
39:06You like her? Good.
39:08Absolutely delicious.
39:12Even if it's ice on myself.
39:15It's proved to be a winner.
39:18Cheers!
39:20And the ideal start for Edward, Anna, Charles and Emma
39:25to kick off the festive season.
39:27In the Languedoc region of southern France, it's just two hours before Luke and Lily's first Christmas party.
39:45The wine barn is almost ready and they've booked a surprise acrobat show as an extra special treat.
39:52I'm really excited to see everyone's reactions to it because no one knows what's happening.
39:56Yeah.
39:57It's going to be good fun.
39:58It's going to be so much fun.
40:00They can't afford to relax just yet, as there's lots of last-minute finishing touches.
40:06And then I just have to press down and the centre bit.
40:12And Sasha has a festive one of her own.
40:16We've got these lovely giant candlesticks.
40:19They'll be covered with winter berries like this and pyracantha.
40:23The nice thing is, is using things from your own garden.
40:27I would like it to be a nice welcome.
40:31There you go.
40:32I'm almost there.
40:33Tim is also keen to add his own Christmas stamp by making a unique table decoration.
40:42This is string doused in PVA glue wrapped around an inflated balloon.
40:48The string is now dry, ready for me to bust and hopefully leave the shell of the string intact,
40:57which will become the Christmas decoration.
41:01Tim's never done this before.
41:04You can hear the glue breaking off the balloon.
41:08And can't afford to get it wrong.
41:10That feels pretty good.
41:13So here we go.
41:18Job done.
41:20I'm left with the structure.
41:23Look at that.
41:25The next stage is for me to spray that.
41:26And we're almost done.
41:27It's all looking good.
41:41I will then put Christmas tree lights, fairy lights inside.
41:44So as they don't all slump to the bottom, I'm wrapping the lights around some cellophane.
41:53I haven't a clue if it works, but I'm hoping it will.
41:57There we go.
41:59Turn them on.
42:01And just to make sure how it looks.
42:05I'm quite pleased with that.
42:07Happy Christmas.
42:11With the night drawing in, and the party about to begin.
42:16You said glitter?
42:18Yeah, got glitter.
42:20I feel like something out of the Addams family.
42:23Lily just needs to pour the welcome drinks.
42:26We're putting a Christmas twist on it.
42:28So we're doing a cranberry syrup with the champagne, with a candy cane.
42:32So we've got candy cane champagne.
42:33My goodness me.
42:35Well done.
42:37Happy Christmas.
42:38Happy Christmas.
42:40With the Chateau's courtyard in full sparkle, it's showtime.
42:57So these are chicken satay bites.
43:00Everyone has arrived.
43:01And they seem to be enjoying the festivities.
43:06It's going very well.
43:08A little bit too well.
43:10But the highlight of the evening is yet to come.
43:15Any second now, the whole group's going to come over and we're going to reveal our secret cabaret.
43:19It's been a great evening.
43:20It's been especially fun for us because we haven't organised it.
43:33It's all down to our daughter and son-in-law.
43:34It's something that we hadn't imagined coming up with.
43:35It was an amazing acrobatic act that looked as it came out of a Cirque Soleil.
43:36Yeah, it's been absolutely great.
43:53Absolutely.
44:03It was an amazing acrobatic act that looked as it came out of a Cirque Soleil.
44:06Yeah, it's been absolutely great.
44:08With Tim and Sasha's blessing, Luke and Lily have pulled a Christmas cracker.
44:14It's gone really, really well.
44:16happy with how it went really looking forward to a quick break and putting our feet up for a well
44:22deserved rest i think yeah absolutely it's so rewarding seeing that everyone's having a great
44:26time everyone's just raving about everything and it's it's just it's a great feeling
44:33it's been the perfect way to begin the christmas celebrations
44:37and for luke and lily it's set to become their annual festive party
44:43next time so it's all a bit backwards and higgledy-piggledy because i've been making
44:50this up as i go along really making room at the stable doesn't always equal silent nights
44:58oh harry oh harry a potential recipe for disaster how much brandy you're going to put in no idea
45:05literally have no idea you okay and moving in a feast-sized table
45:13proves a right christmas carry-on you've got to lift it right up i like your options
45:35so
45:43so
45:45so
45:49you
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