The Xmas Factor

Christmas is all about proving ourselves as wives and mothers. It's like an A level in showing we can do it all, and failure is not an option. Show me a woman who hasn't obsessed about it.'

Following the stories of Beth, a university lecturer recently married to an older widower and Carol, a magazine editor and single mother, this is a slightly outdated festive novel about women trying to do everything at Christmas including reviving an ailing magazine and organising a mammoth Christmas Village party on Christmas eve. Whilst both women are highly competent, they both feel the guilt of not having enough time and the pressure of being surrounded by people who continually need them in some way and wanting to make everything absolutely perfect. 

I found it quite frustrating to read at times as I just wanted the characters to stop what they were doing and talk about how they felt. Lost count of the number of meals Carol skipped and the lists Beth made. Even when they attempted to delegate it didn't work, and Beth's stepdaughter Holly actively sabotaged everything, but I think this and the ‘helpful' tips at the beginning quoted from women's magazines gave a sense of the pressure. I also got a bit cheesed with the mocking the politically correct nativity play. Thankfully, most of this was addressed by the end and overall I enjoyed reading it.