Original subtitles

Christmas can be a magical time of year.

Merry Christmas baby. Mwah!

Behold the star!

But it often comes with a long list of jobs...

Everybody towards Christmas, they wind down.

We go, "Vvrrrooom!"

..especially if you live in an enormous chateau.

It's a nightmare, these. Oh, dear.

You're looking in a bit of a Christmas tangle.

We're following intrepid owners...

Do you not think it's like snow?

No, not quite.

..as they prepare for the festive season in France.

How are you? Merry Christmas.

It's getting a tad hectic now.

We'll witness the highs...

Ho-ho-ho!

Oh! It's Santa!

..the lows...

That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?

At this rate, I think Christmas is going to have to be cancelled.

..the joy...

We have Christmas!

..and magic.

GASPS Oh, wow. #S

..as they transform their castles into a winter wonderland.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Today a couple's Christmas plans...

Go on. There we go.

..get tree-mendously out of hand.

It's always good fun with logistics like this.

Is a gingerbread chateau...

..about to crumble another owner's hard work?

If I kind of pad it...

..because what I don't want is any of it falling inwards.

And a third have a smashing time...

Nearly.

..decking the halls.

Let's see if we can do this without breaking anything.

In the lush Normandy countryside of Northern France

stands the elegant 18th century Chateau de Lalacelle.

With grounds stretching across 21 acres,

this forgotten beauty stood abandoned

for four decades until it captured the hearts of Middlesbrough couple

Terry and his fiance Ashley.

Christmas at the chateau, it's just magical.

We're just blessed with having amazing scenery and amazing views.

You get up on a morning and there's frost or a bit of snow

and it just... It feels Christmassy.

It feels like we're in a little wonderland of our own.

I think having a chateau is the perfect place for Christmas.

Absolutely. Definitely.

Located three hours west of Paris,

the couple bought the property in 2020 for £250,000

and now live in an attic apartment

while they transform the rest of the crumbling chateau

into luxury holiday lets.

With all this white on the ground, it feels all Christmassy.

THEY LAUGH

Their life here in France is very much a family affair,

and last Christmas Terry's mother Tracy

and nephew Jonathan helped light up their new home.

They do look beautiful, don't they? Mm-hm. Huh?

They do look good.

This year, though, the festive focus is on two other little helpers.

My Auntie Paula obviously comes over quite often

to help out with a lot of the renovations work,

and her husband as well, Pete. Yeah.

So we're having to set out extra accommodation for them.

And unfortunately they're going in the stables.

There's no room at the inn. It'll have to be the stables.

The stable would be fit for Mary, so I'm sure it'll do for Paula.

When done.

It'll be a while until Auntie Paula can enjoy her present,

but Terry and Ashley are keen to show off its potential.

And here we are.

Beautiful little cottage.

You'll have your bedroom this end,

your bathroom will be in there with the corridor,

whereas this end, we're going to do a nice big,

open kitchen/dining room.

Yeah. Which'll be nice.

So that's what we were thinking. Are you happy with that?

Yes, I'm very happy. Yeah.

So it's getting up to Christmas.

We're going to start getting the barn sorted for

a Christmas present for you.

Oh, thank you so much!

Always happy to help...

..Auntie Paula joins the other elves in clearing out

the first of the three stables.

Are they two together?

Three.

So you want all them bringing through?

Yeah, they can all get chopped up.

As well as Terry's mum, Tracy, Ashley's dad Graham

is also pitching in.

Let me take this one. Yeah.

A lot of people normally relax over Christmas

and take it easy, but doing stuff like this is...

It's just brilliant for us, obviously all coming together

as a family and all getting stuck in and just enjoying it, really.

But it seems there's already someone staying in the stable.

Well, as we're clearing the old, erm,

twigs out we found a sleeping hedgehog.

So we're going to find a new little spot for it.

Normally we like keeping them near the barn.

So we'll find a little cosy box for it that it can cosy up into

and relocate him.

With the wood cleared and the local wildlife taken care of...

I've got a box here for her.

..the final thing to shift is decades of manure.

Nothing goes to waste here at the chateau

so all of this'll end up getting...

We'll use it for the gardens, for the flowers,

just for everywhere, really.

While Ashley heads off with a trailer full of free fertiliser,

Paula can size up her new kitchen.

So what do you think?

Brilliant. I love it.

We'll leave it like this. Leave it very, erm... Agricultural?

Agricultural. Very rustic!

As the other two stables are full of reclaimed materials,

this family are going to have to work their Christmas socks off.

In the Charente department of western France

is the imposing La Grande Maison la Pinelle,

a four-and-a-half-acre property with an abandoned 22-room manor house,

barns and outbuildings.

And a modern five-bedroom home,

where Kiwi-born Sarah and her husband Bart currently live.

I think that'll do it.

The couple fell in love with La Grande Maison

just over a year ago...

It looks beautiful.

..and promptly bought it for £335,000.

For Christmas, when we get all the lights up, the fairy lights

and festoon lights and things like that,

just to add a bit more Christmassy feel to it,

she's just going to be even more magical.

I do believe that I'm going to have to buy some more lights.

Yep. I think we're going to need a lot more lights.

The property is located just 14 miles from

the town of Cognac.

And Bart's hoping there may be a bottle or two

in his Christmas stocking.

Even though we were here last winter,

we missed Christmas because we went back to the UK.

This year, we're very much looking forward to

a proper traditional French Christmas.

They're also keen to share the joy.

So we're really excited because we're going to be hosting

a party here.

We'll have some French carols, some English carols

and just some music to get everybody up

and enjoying the Christmas atmosphere.

The party pad, though, needs a bit of work.

Ooh, ah! Come on, my lovely.

Ooh, ah!

First thing we need to do is for Sarah to shovel up

that big pile of sand.

SARAH LAUGHS

That'll be me!

Look, I know it looks completely unfinished and miles away,

which it is, but one of the things I really want to try out today

is getting two or three chandeliers up, potentially,

so we can see what they're going to look like.

"Is it going to create the right vibe and ambience?"

is what I'm trying to achieve.

Too much is never enough for you.

True. Exactly.

Helping Sarah create some Christmas sparkle...

Ooh, it's lovely!

Lovely. That's it.

..is their neighbour Dawn.

Do you know, the leading up to Christmas, I think,

is one of the most exciting times.

I know. We're so similar on that, aren't we?

It's actually starting to feel a bit, "You know what,

"this is real. We're going to have our first Christmas party

"and it's going to be amazing."

To help grant Sarah's wish,

Bart's called in his own little helper - his friend, Ian.

The ladies want three chandeliers...

Uh-huh. ..on three beams.

I've got two pieces of rope, one of which will do two.

Ah, OK.

All righty, then!

Well, here's the moment of truth. IAN LAUGHS #S

Let's see if...

..we can do this without breaking anything.

It's all yours. Tally ho!

What do you want me to do, hold it while you tie it?

You hold her and I'll tie her off.

So we're putting three up in a row, just to see

aesthetically how it's going to look.

Oh... Nearly. ..so close!

Wahey! Boom!

I'm really pleased with that.

What do you think?

I think they look great.

I think they look fabulous.

I'm really, really chuffed.

I think it's easily going to take five. Oh, absolutely.

Yeah? And I think when they're all lit up

and we've got our fairy lights and Christmas bits in too,

with all the decorations, this space is going to look amazing.

Absolutely.

But with just four weeks to go until the party,

Bart and Sarah will need to work hard to turn

their windswept barn into a magical Christmas crib.

Coming up...

Ashley's Christmas gets creepy.

Oh, little ones I can deal with but these are verging on

tarantulas, you know?

And a gingerbread chateau...

..requires emergency DIY.

Though I assume this will have a very soggy bottom.

In the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwest France

lies the charming 14th century Domaine de la Barde.

Set within ten acres, this former hotel has 32 spacious rooms,

several outbuildings and beautiful formal gardens.

Loving restoring it are Tim and his wife Chris,

who are celebrating their third Christmas here

with their son Owen.

Christmas is wonderful here.

We have a proper family home.

It's just about filling the house up with people and Christmassy sights

and smells and sounds, and...

Argh!

..it's one big party.

Owen loves Christmas, and I'm really, really looking forward

to Christmas cos I know that he will be happy.

And when he's happy, I'm happy.

And when I'm happy, Tim's happy.

Located 100 miles east of Bordeaux,

last year the boys went into the woods on a merry mission.

Pair of antlers, Owen?

Yep!

There you go. Perfect.

Ah! SHE LAUGHS

What is this?

A reindeer. A reindeer!

It's Rudolph.

Oh, this is amazing!

Oh, you've done really well.

This year, Owen and ten friends will be decorating gingerbread chateaux -

that is if Chef Tim can work out how to make them!

I have never made a gingerbread chateau before.

I haven't really made gingerbread for a long time,

probably not since I was a kid, to be honest.

So I'm hedging my bets a little bit.

I suppose really I've just got to get on with it and bite the biscuit.

First, Tim starts by making a template.

If it was true to a proper chateau it would be damp

and full of leaks, so I assume this will have a very soggy bottom.

Once the template's done, it's time to make the real thing.

So that just needs to melt.

All the best puddings in the world are full of sugar,

full of butter. It's traditional.

You don't make sacrifices at Christmas.

Ooh! It's Christmassy, isn't it?

Isn't it Christmassy?

Perfect.

Oh, that's good.

That's Christmas in a bowl, that is.

You can smell the ginger and the sugar and everything

permeating the kitchen.

It's gorgeous.

And you want it kind of a couple of centimetres thick.

It's got to dry thick enough that it will...

It will stand up and be a rigid piece of

building material. essentially.

Yeah.

I'm just making sure I've got nice, neat edges all the way round.

That looks good.

If Tim's Gingerbread Chateaux aren't for sale in

a leading supermarket next year,

then I have really missed a trick, I reckon.

It's a little early, though,

for Tim to give himself a round of Santa-pplause.

Just over 300 miles away in Normandy,

Terry, Ashley and their family are still hard at work,

clearing out the chateau's old stable block.

Wahey! Look - don't even need to cut it now.

Brute strength!

Next year, they plan to turn it into a cosy home

for Terry's Auntie Paula.

But there's a mountain of clutter to clear first.

Obviously, with us doing this,

then each of the buildings are coming back to life

and they're getting used again, which is great.

THEY GROAN

This is hard work.

We forgot how heavy they are.

The stable doors may be rotten,

but Terry's keeping tabs on them.

With doing the work that we're doing

I'm trying to save as much of the history and the fixtures

as well, so we can re-use them and so it looks as original as possible.

I get a bit twitchy when people start pulling stuff off

and cutting stuff.

Come out a bit more.

There you go.

Pull it round your way, Trace.

There you go. I knew I'd get one of them off.

LAUGHTER

I think Mam and Ash'd be quite happy just to skip about

90% of the stuff here!

If you weren't here, it'd all go in the fire.

I know!

Two stables down...

..just one to go.

So the last ones got the most stuff in.

We've got all of the Tumuts, which are the old floor tiles

that were out of the cottage.

We've got all of the old shutters from the chateau and

a couple of the bits and bobs from some of the other buildings.

Save the best till last. Yep.

With over 700 tiles to move...

Right, you take them off Paula. You give them to Nanna.

..the whole family's involved.

This is the third time these tiles have been moved from

one place to another.

Tracy, that's the one that had the spider on.

LAUGHTER

We've switched places cos there's quite a few dirty spiders in there.

And they're not little. Little ones I can deal with,

but these are verging on tarantulas, you know?

Ooh. Careful.

Once the tiles, and the creepy crawlies, have been moved on...

Let me get that end.

..it's just the original chateau shutters to rehome.

Some of these are salvageable. Some aren't.

But we want to keep them all, and when we get the chance

we'll sort through them and have a little look.

So, yeah, we'll get these in,

get them in another outbuilding for now and then go from there.

It's one of the good ones.

Going to be very extra careful with it!

Yeah, put the, like, bad ones over there if you want.

There may now be room in the stable, but the manger's a way away.

One day Paula will be able to spend Christmas here and enjoy it.

Won't be this Christmas, but hopefully for next Christmas

we can... Yeah. And to give someone their own little house in France

for Christmas, I think, it's anyone's dream really.

With lots still to do,

they can't hang up their stockings just yet.

Four hours south in the Charente department,

preparations for the Christmas party are looking sweet.

Today, myself and Dawn, who is a chocolatier by profession,

we are going to be making some chocolates.

First job for me is to fit the windows.

I've also managed to repurpose some of the stone flooring

from the stables to work as a windowsill.

They are very heavy, so Ian's going to assist me with, shifting those.

As they're planning to use the barn for events...

That one's heavy.

..Bart's hoping the recycled sill and windows will make

an interesting talking point.

Have you checked that they fit?

Yep.

I have faith.

Right, is it going to fit?

Almost. Let me just...

No, it will go. ..wiggle it.

There we go.

Lovely.

Yep. Once it's mortared it'll look nice. Mm.

Inside, there's the rich smell of chocolate.

Is that enough, Dawn?

That's it. Now, just start to fold those in.

An even movement is the most important thing.

This is going far too easily.

Something's got to go wrong. Shhh!

THEY LAUGH

OK, then. See if they close.

Well, that seems to have worked OK.

Yay! Oh, like a glove!

Oh, my God, that looks amazing. It just looks...

Honestly, I could just stick my mouth underneath that.

And the smell is just an... Oh!

So just keep a steady flow.

Tapping it on the table will eliminate air bubbles. Oh!

That's it.

Oh, I love it, love it, love it.

Just going to take that little excess off

and then this is ready to go in the fridge.

And it has to go in the fridge, not a freezer.

If they're good enough, Sarah's planning to give them

to their guests.

This Christmas party is our opportunity to say thank you

to all the locals for embracing us into the community.

And it's our turn to host cos they've had us over

for various festivities.

For Bart, hanging windows and pointing stonework is

a big shift from his previous job as a military dog handler.

I think that'll do.

Ooh, I think these ones are ready, Dawn.

Okey doke. Yeah?

OK. So pop your ones on there for the moment.

Yep.

Oh. Oh, yeah, tap on the others.

Oh, wow! That's it.

Ha-ha, ha-ha!

Oh, they look fabulous!

They look fantastic. Well done. I think it's only fair that

I sample my work. Absolutely.

THEY LAUGH

Mm.

Oh, yeah.

They're good. That's good. Well done.

It's late afternoon and time for Sarah to see how Bart's getting on.

Oh, wow. Look at that!

Once I've cleaned up the stone, she'll look very nice.

Well, it looks amazing now.

I love it. Good! I really love it.

Today's been a very busy day, but I have to say

I'm really pleased with what we've got done.

And we're on track to have the place ready.

Really?

Yeah.

I'm not feeling as confident, as you can tell, because

I'm still looking at the scale of work we need to get completed.

Well, it's going to be ready.

It just might not be as ready yet as you desire.

When it comes to Christmas party planning,

Sarah has the final sleigh.

Still to come...

Ashley's Christmas is a wash-out...

It's not going to come up perfect.

It's a dirty, wet job.

..and a mystery...

Mm!

..is solved.

How to catch a thief.

In Normandy...

..elf-taught DIYers Terry and Ashley have started turning

the old stables into a new holiday home for Auntie Paula.

So we need to clean it down now.

It's looking a bit sorry for itself.

So pull the rest of the ivy off that we can,

get as much of the green and dirt off the building,

just so we can see it for what it is.

Yeah, just cleaning it up, it'll just make it look a little bit

more presentable, until we can get the next stage of work done. Yeah.

We have plenty of experience with the jet wash.

We've done the chateau, so this is only a tiny job compared to that.

It's coming off really well, all the moss and the lichen and that,

so it's not going to come up perfect - it's an old building.

We just want to get rid of what looks like grime,

and just where it doesn't look nice.

This next bit of wall, it's been under what looks like a rotten

part of the roof, so it's completely green.

So this'll be nice and satisfying to do.

It's a dirty work job but I don't mind too much.

It'll be a nice present for Paula, seeing it all nice,

clean and fresh. So I'll crack on.

Meanwhile, Ashley's dad and Terry tackle the roof.

What's happened, cos we've got a tree overhanging,

all of the old leaves have turned into sort of, like, a mulch.

And the ivy has grown into that sort of soil.

So not only is it rooting down at the bottom of the wall -

it's rooting actually on the roof as well.

Now, this is one of the roots that I've managed to get off.

And you can see the size of it,

and this is why it's doing so much damage to

the whole structure, really.

So I'd say it's important that we get it all off now.

We're not going to be replacing straight away,

so we still need to do a bit more work,

but just getting this off so it's not going to cause any more damage

to the wall and the roof, really.

I'm dirty, I'm wet.

I can't get any further over that way cos they're still working there,

so I'm going to go and get a shower and cook some mince pies.

I've got my Christmas hat on,

so I'm in the Christmas spirit.

It's Christmas-time, so make everyone happy with some food.

I've got my mincemeat ready.

My pastry's pre-made because it's so nice in France

and it's so cheap that I just buy the pre-made stuff -

I can't make it as cheap and as nice as what they do.

My high-tech cutter, it's the right size for my tins,

so I'll cut my pastry out with this.

They really don't do mince pies in France.

Terry and Tracy absolutely love them.

Being here and working together, well, it makes Christmas

and family time so much more special.

We appreciate each other a hell of a lot more than

what we ever did.

Well, that's them all done, ready to go in the oven.

10-15 minutes and we'll be able to enjoy them.

With home-made mince pies on their way

and the stable under way, things, as they say,

are AWAY in the manger at this chateau.

Down in the Charente,

there's just two weeks to go until Bart and Sarah's

first-ever chateau shindig.

Today we are hoping to get all the lights finished

and that involves five beams, five chandeliers,

five sets of fairy lights.

So sounds easy and straightforward,

but when you've got roofs which are about four metres tall,

five metres, would you say?

I think five. Five. It's going to be a little bit of a chore.

As they're fairly new to the area,

Bart and Sarah are keen to make an impression.

Oh, nice to be out of the rain.

Oh! Ooh.

So what we're looking to do is transform this barn into

a beautifully, subtly lit, sparkly Christmas atmosphere.

OK, so where do we start?

I think fairy lights first. Yeah? Measure them out.

Yeah. I'll run up, and while I'm up doing the centre of the beam

I'll put in the hook for the chandelier.

Ooh!

You take the plug end that way. OK.

So roughly at, erm, 11, 11 and a half metres...

THEY LAUGH

..I need you to come back to me.

Oh, hold on a sec.

I'm getting a bit caught up.

So my middle one needs to be a little bit longer.

So this one's a bit too long.

That's it. Like that.

I think that's quite close.

That's good. Awesome!

We've had to go big on the lights

cos one string on these beams is just going to have no impact.

This scale is just 100 to one, and that includes the cobwebs.

Instead of having bright bulbs, cos they were just too overpowering,

we've got these candles cos, A, they look more authentic,

and, B, they give off a lot nicer, more gentle light.

Looking good. Looking good!

OK.

It's quite exciting, having my vision in my head coming alive.

Once the last light's perfectly in place...

How's that, my lovely?

Beautiful, darling.

..it's time to see if Christmas is coming to

La Grande Maison la Pinelle.

Ha-ha, ha-ha! What do you think?

It looks incredible.

I love it!

I think it gives it a really festive feel.

Yeah. You know what we need now? Mm-hm? Is a fake snow machine.

Oh!

What, indoors?

Yeah? No. OK.

I think this is perfect as it is.

OK. Right, that's that done.

Onto the other 4,322 things we need to get done before the party.

Dream on. Come on. Come on.

Come on, you lot. I'm ready for... Off we go.

I'm ready for a beer.

There is an enormous amount to do before Bart and Sarah can

open their gates to their guests.

100 miles away, Tim and Owen have turned

the leftover gingerbread dough into Christmas cookies.

They're all ready to start decorating,

so we're armed with our colours, and I think we're going to see

how we go. Are you joining me, Owen?

Yeah.

Luckily, Granny has equipped them with all the necessary tools.

Or perhaps not.

I thought it'd be more like frosting.

I think Granny has got us the wrong things entirely!

I think these are just food colourings.

No, no, no, no. Don't eat it, don't eat it.

You're going to... No. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait.

What? Let's clean you up before it goes too far!

Is food colouring basically paint?

Basically.

Yes.

To avert a Christmas catastrophe,

they'll have to magic up their own icing.

Go for it.

You've got to get it really dry and stiff.

Look. That's just perfect.

What we could do, we could divide this out, and then we add

the food colouring that Granny got us.

Next door, Chris is busy turning an old gold curtain into

a brand-new sack for Santa.

Tim and I, when we were kids,

a lot of our happy memories revolves around Christmas.

So it's what we're trying to do for Owen as well.

There - look.

Powwww!

We want him to have beautiful, magical Christmas memories.

I'll make this one Santa.

There we go.

So that will become Santa's sack.

Just needs to do its job.

It just needs to be able to carry gifts.

That's it.

Come on!

Almost there.

Look at that.

Lovely! That...

That's perfect!

Ooh!

Oh, look who it is...

It's all done, is it? ..as if she knew there was food!

I'm really hungry. I want to taste that.

Mm!

Yours look good. Mine taste all right.

It's really good.

Thank you so much, guys.

Today's been great.

We've discovered that we have made a few oversights -

or Granny has - with the icing.

But we've rectified that.

Owen's been absolutely magic in the kitchen.

Mummy has eaten all of the cookies,

but it's all gone fine.

Cos there was a cookie on the side and it had black icing on it,

I thought it was icing but unfortunately it wasn't.

It's actually food colouring!

So it's a little bit more concentrated.

And I think it's still there!

How to catch a thief.

But with Santa on his way and gingerbread chateaux to build,

this mischievous pair need to get a move on.

Coming up...

Are you in the hole, Ash?

It's a holey day at the stables for Terry and Ashley.

Watch it go over!

And Chris and Tim are hoping for the most wonderful time of the year.

It's either going to be delightfully joyous...

..or it's going to be carnage.

At Chateau de Lalacelle,

the stables have been cleared and a lot of dirt removed.

Next year, Terry and Ashley will convert it into a house

for Auntie Paula. But in the meantime

they feel they should at least spruce it up.

Try and make it a little bit Christmassier for Paula.

When it comes to Christmas, we always go all-out.

It's just one of them things.

Terry and Tracy love Christmas,

and making this place Christmassy is just magical.

And the first thing they're pining for...

Yep, sides are off.

..is a 15-foot tree?

The ones underneath are going to be an issue.

I can squash the sides in here. Are we going from there?

Shall we go right the way underneath?

It's always good fun with logistics like this and a tree this big.

There we go.

We can go a bit faster.

So just going to be the challenge of getting it up now.

Here you go.

Lovely.

So we're putting the based on first?

No, I'll stand it up. You're going to stand it up first?

Yeah. And then we'll get the base on.

Yeah. And then two can hold it.

Might be winter,

but you soon build a sweat doing anything like this.

Are we in the hole, Ash?

It's in, yeah. You can stand now.

I'll come round.

GRUNTING

Watch it go over!

On the other side.

There you go.

Right.

Once Terry secures the base,

they're on pines and needles!

Oh, God. Can we let go?

Yeah. Should be able to let go now.

Woo!

How beautiful is that?

It's absolutely gorgeous.

So the next stage is to start getting all the lights on

and making it look nice and Christmassy.

With it being a big tree, we need big lights.

So there's about 5,000 lights going on the tree this year,

which should light it up nicely.

Be able to see it from space, maybe.

Hey!

Yep, you go round.

I'll throw it up as you go round.

The inside of the stables also hasn't been fir-gotten.

It's just these and then we're finished, are we?

Yeah, we'll get these in and then bring Paula down for the surprise.

A week ago, the stables were covered in grime and overgrown ivy,

with rotten doors and piles of clutter.

Today, it's packed with potential.

The rooms are clear,

the floors scraped clean.

Original ironwork showcases the building's history,

and hopefully by next Christmas this old stable will be a new home.

For now, though, all that's needed is Auntie Paula.

Surprise! Merry Christmas! Surprise!

Oh, it's lovely!

And inside are...three wise men, bearing gifts.

There you go. What do you think?

Thank you. Thank you. Do you like it?

It's stunning. Yes. It's...

Rustic!

No, it's lovely. It's...

So we've all chipped in to get it all sorted for you.

Once we get the tree in place,

obviously we've done a little couple of final touches

with the garland and the lights in here...

It's not quite ready to move in yet, but it won't be long.

No, but it's a first stage to getting you here and...

Yeah. See what it's like. It will.

I've been cooking for yous as well. Ooh!

Does anyone want one? Freshly baked mince pies?

Freshly baked mince pies. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Enjoy!

I think today's gone pretty well. Yeah.

I think Paula's happy with it. It's going to be her home.

And being able to imagine it and just seeing it with that

little Christmassy feel, it makes it feel a bit more real, I think.

It's been a busy few days,

and just the start of another big project.

But it's time for this family...

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Cheers!

..to put their festive feet up.

At Domaine de la Barde, it's the day of the party

and Tim has some DIY to do but it's not on his usual scale.

I've baked off all of the gingerbread now.

I've done all the templates, cut them all out, baked them.

I've got all of my houses ready to assemble.

I'm going to use a box of beer to build around

so that there's something can support it all a bit.

You just use the icing as cement.

And now I'm thinking, if I kind of pad it,

cos what I don't want is any of it falling inwards,

I think this is going to hold.

Once the icing has set I can take all this off.

I think today's going to go one or two ways.

It's either going to be delightfully joyous, festive,

full of merriment, or it's going to be carnage and it's going to be

a house full of kids high on sugar.

But, as they say, if you bake it they will come.

Come on in, come on in, come on in. Ah!

So welcome to our Christmas wonderland.

Ooh! Look, look, look!

Wow. KIDS CHATTER

We're going to divide into teams and then you're all going to work

together to decorate the houses.

TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:

Do you want a hat? Do you want a hat?

Quick, everyone get a hat!

Soon, Owen and his fellow elves are working hard to create

show-stopping chateaux.

It's the chateaux-owners of the future,

all coming together in one room.

It's a meeting of great minds and extraordinary people.

This is, exactly what Christmas is about.

The boys' house is looking very much of a boys' house.

It's very quirky, very interesting.

The girls' house is looking very neat.

Lots of accessories going around the house.

It's all 100% edible.

It's all 100% sugar.

OK, is everybody finished?

The judging committee have spoken,

and they said...

..you have all won.

CHEERING Everyone is a winner.

Bravo, bravo.

Tout le monde a gagne.

Tout le monde gagne!

What a beautiful day. That was lovely.

The gingerbread houses stood up to their punishment

and looked fantastic.

Owen, if you want to ring your bell...

Owen!

And you can take your friends to get their prizes.

Come on, then. Come on, you guys.

Next door, Santa may be snoozing,

but his new sack's packed with gifts.

Well, everybody's really happy. Owen is so happy. He had a blast.

Everybody had just a wonderful time.

I mean, even us. I enjoyed every bit of that.

I enjoyed it. I loved it.

Is Amelia here?

Yeah!

Oh, here you are, Amelia.

There you go.

Murray?

LAUGHTER

Murray!

There you are, Murray.

That's OK.

Owen.

There you go. Merry Christmas.

This is the magic life that we came looking for

and we've got a beautiful community with beautiful friends

and happy kids, and just, you know, this is life, innit?

And this is Christmas.

And isn't it wonderful?

Next time...

Timber!

..decking the halls is an uphill struggle.

It's absolutely typical with anything you do in this place.

A wine cellar project is snow joke!

Everything, as always, takes about four times longer

than you anticipate.

And Sarah's ho-ho-hoping for a Christmas miracle.

We still have to put all the lights up.

We've still got to get all the food out.

And we've only a couple of hours to go.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media