Interview for Daily Telegraph (Christmas preparations)

Document type:	public statement
Document kind:	Interview
Venue:	Unknown
Source:	Daily Telegraph, 14 December 1959
Journalist:	Winefride Jackson, Daily Telegraph
Editorial comments:	Item listed by date of publication. Full text available on CD-ROM only, though MT's words are extracted and available here.
Importance ranking:	Trivial
Word count:	953
Themes:	Autobiography (marriage and children)

Editor's summary. Under the headline How do Busy Women Cope with Christmas?, the article surveyed the Christmas plans of a number of prominent women, including MT and her Labour contemporary Judith Hart.

"Our Christmas is devoted to the children, six-year-old twins, Mark and Carol ," commented MT.

She does all the work herself rather than stay at a hotel and plans three days of cooking before the holiday.

"One can prepare lots of pastry cases for savoury fillings but the fillings must be freshly made. I shall also make sponge cases to fill at the last minute with fruit. Lots of chocolate and coffee mousse can be made on the third day.

"It's a good idea to stock two or three tins of pure cream for last-minute guests."

Presents: "Stocking presents upstairs can be opened first thing in the morning. Last year it was 2.30 a.m. The main presents are opened after breakfast round the tree."