The most wonderful time of the year

IT'S time to dust off the Christmas tree, buy a sweet-smelling fresh one and fill your home and mind with the festive spirit. We plunge straight into the festive mood in Friday's issue of BT Weekend magazine as we unwrap Christmas in all its gift-giving glory.

The theme is a personal Christmas, and we feature gift ideas from bespoke to beautiful, whimsical to luxury. Whether your gift list includes a gourmet, art or design lover, we've got you covered. We also check in with several tastemakers who share their thoughts on the best presents to give and receive.

And what is Christmas without Santa Claus?

We check in with the "real" Kris Kringle as he makes a quick pitstop in Singapore from Rovaniemi - the reindeer-shaped official hometown of Santa Claus in Lapland - right on the edge of the Arctic Circle. In an exclusive interview, he talks about staying relevant in an Instagram age, and why he hasn't had to retrench an elf in, oh, the last couple of hundred years or so.

And of course, there's Christmas dinner to think of and if you have a taste for traditional classics, we look for artisanal chefs who put in the necessary hours to make authentic foie gras terrines, honey-baked ham, porchetta, Beef Wellington and - homemade panettone, following a recipe that has evolved over the last 10 years.

Last but not least - while not festive per se, we peep into a retro-lover's newly refurbished apartment near Outram Road which has been designed to blend with the heritage vibe of the neighbourhood while replicating the aesthetic of his grandparents' home that he grew up in.

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