The perfect festive treat: a beautifully illustrated book of Christmas stories and recipes from the Booker prize long-listed author.

'Packed with charm and beautifully illustrated, it's a book that will solve your gift dilemmas and let you escape the less salubrious aspects of Christmas for a literary wonderland' Stylist

Everybody loves a Christmas story. The tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tradition of celebration, sharing and giving. And what better way to do that than with a story?

Read these stories by the fire, in the snow, travelling home for the holidays. Give them to friends, wrap them up for someone you love, read them aloud, read them alone, read them together. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic.

There are ghosts here and jovial spirits. Chances at love and tricks with time.

There is frost and icicles, mistletoe and sledges. There's a cat and a dog and a solid silver frog. There's a Christmas cracker with a surprising gift inside.

There's a haunted house and a SnowMama. There are Yuletides and holly wreaths. Three Kings. And a merry little Christmas time.

And for the icing on the Christmas cake, there are twelve festive recipes from Yuletides past and present. Red cabbage, gravlax, turkey biryani, sherry trifle, Mrs Winterson's mince pies and more.

At Christmas, Jeanette Winterson makes her own mince pies and cheese straws ¿ half the price, twice as good, and as fast as going to the shops to buy them; see the recipes inside. She has invented her own traditions for a happy Christmas and believes that anyone can. It¿s not about money ¿ it¿s about imagination. Her advice is this: Go for a walk with a flask of coffee and a piece of Christmas cake in your pocket. Think about the good things in your life and in the world. No bad things on this walk! Then come home, light the candles, sing the carols, and have yourself a merry little Christmas-time.