For Absolutely Fabulous fans, Christmas 2025 might have already delivered the best gift of all - Dame Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders reunited.
The pair might not be reprising their roles as the lewd and crude Eddy and Patsy, but they’ll be appearing together on the Amandaland Christmas special later tonight.
But while many of us might spend time watching Joanna during the festive period, how will the acting legend be spending the big day herself?
Here Joanna shares how she celebrates Christmas, including the Hollywood star who made her a handsome decoration, the accessory that’s 'compulsory' at her dinner table, and the one food she’ll never get enough of.
'God bless Mariah Carey'
As the anticipation towards the big day builds, Joanna gets excited when it comes to Marian Carey’s festive anthem. "God bless Mariah Carey. My Christmas isn’t Christmas without that girl."
The other A-Lister who's part of her Christmas every year
There’s one handmade decoration that 'comes out every year' that was given to Joanna by her Wolf of Wall Street co-star, Margot Robbie.
The Barbie actress made the decoration for Joanna 'out of pastry. She painted it red and white, then put it in a box, signing it 'To Aunt Emma [Joanna’s character in the film], with lots of love, Margot Robbie.'
What does the star’s big day look like?
For anyone expecting a Christmas with Joanna Lumley to look like a scene from Absolutely Fabulous, 'that isn’t the case'.
'Some people might imagine me as Patsy on Christmas Day, rising with three cigarettes going simultaneously and a bottle of Bolly open beside the bed… I love Old Pats. She lives alongside me, but she’s not me'.
No two Christmases are the same
'Every year we have a slightly different one. Often we’re in our little cottage in the Dumfriesshire hills in Scotland, which is beautiful. We used to get snowed in and have power cuts, so Christmas was by candlelight'.
If she’s not in Scotland, she and her husband, musician Stephen Barlow, will celebrate at home in South London. But they won’t be alone.
'We usually get what we call waifs and strays at our table. They bring food, we cook and we share it out. It’s a fantastic Christmassy feeling'.
What does Joanna cook up in the kitchen?
'One of my Christmas traditions is to make bread sauce because I make the best bread sauce in the world.
'But the Christmas Day tradition I can never pass on is a good portion of Brussels sprouts because I adore them, especially when steamed and served with butter, crushed walnut, black pepper and nutmeg."
'It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without eating sprouts'.
When is it time to bring out the bubbly?
'I try not to pop the first bottle of champagne until after midday.' she says, before adding, 'I don’t always succeed!'
'When I take it out of the fridge and it’s got my fingerprints on it, I think, 'How much harm could one small glass do?'
It’s a relaxed affair - but there are some strict rules
Though she says 'there’s no dress code, table theme or traditions that we have to stick to, crackers must be pulled pretty soon because I like people looking pretty ghastly in paper hats.'
'Lots of people don’t like to wear paper hats; at my table, they’re compulsory.'
There are some traditions that happen each year
'[Husband] Stevie and I like to go to a Christmas carol service, often in the morning. We’ll have a glass of champagne at midday and lunch might be at about two o’clock - we’ll have meat and vegetarian options followed by a cheese course, then pudding.'
Christmases now look different to her childhood
'I was born in India and grew up in Hong Kong and Malaysia. I remember making paper snowflakes with cotton-wool balls and thinking, 'Is that what snow looks like?'
'When I came back to England, it was incredible seeing snow, ice and frosty trees.'
Presentation is almost more important than the present itself
When it comes to what the Ab Fab star might like to find under the tree, she shares, 'I’m a great lover of a Christmas hamper. It’s thrilling when a creaking basket arrives with all sorts of treats inside.'
But whatever it is, Joanna insists that all gifts, 'no matter how big or small, should be wrapped and presented carefully'
'If a diamond necklace is thrown with four other things into a carrier bag, it’s not as lovely as opening a box of chocolates in which two have been replaced by a pair of diamond earrings.
'That has never happened to me, I’m just hinting,' she said with a glint in her eye.
Blowing away the old and bringing in the new
When the last of the sprouts have been eaten and the hampers opened, Joanna looks to a perfect way to end the year.
'Walking in the Scottish Highlands is such a brilliant experience, as one year comes to an end and the new one is set to arrive,' she says. 'The cold air blows away the old year and brings in the new - as well as shaking off all that excess from Christmas!'
This article first appeared in November 2025 in our sister magazine, Woman. Buy a copy or subscribe today.
