Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas returns for a seasonal crafts showcase on Channel 4

Kirstie Allsopp believes it’s important to create inspiring television that makes people feel good – especially during the run-up to Christmas.

When the first episode of Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas aired in December 2014, the 54-year-old British Location, Location, Location co-presenter set out to champion the value and joy of crafting and encourage viewers to embrace a less commercialised festive season.

But Allsopp, who also co-presented Relocation, Relocation with Phil Spencer, never expected the Channel 4 daytime series to take her across the country, where she has had the privilege of meeting people from completely different walks of life.

For this year’s special of Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, Allsopp and her team focus on the power of collaborating with our friends and family during the festive period. Once again, Allsopp enlists the help of a few crafting experts to get stuck into all things crafting to create bespoke paper ornaments and raku baubles.

You’ve been doing this show for more than ten years now; what has kept you going?

I feel really passionate about this show. It’s very important to me. And even though money is tight all over the TV world, I’m always on at Channel 4. We usually have a 10-part competition show, which is a daytime show. And then we have one or two primetime shows. This year, sadly, we just got the primetime show. But weirdly, it’s been quite good, because we just focused on doing exactly what we wanted to do.

We wanted to stay true to our craft roots but have a very strong message about Christmas being collaborative; you cannot do it all yourself. The only way to have a fun Christmas is to allow other people to bring something to the party, metaphorically and physically; that’s what it’s about. There shouldn’t be women lying awake all over the country with lists in their heads.

You have spoken about how crafting has been good for your mental health, how has your lifelong love for crafting evolved?

I think my love is sort of two-fold. I have bought handmade things all my life. Both my parents painted. My dad did watercolours, as did my mum. My mother was a picture framer, and so she did hand-drawn mounts for pictures. She also painted furniture. She made clothes. She made my doll’s clothes. She made clothes for me, and she altered things, like curtains and things around the house.

So, I was really brought up in an atmosphere where you make things, you mend things, and you sew things. That was very much cultural... The belief that something that’s made by hand is better is very deep in me.

Don’t get me wrong, I really admire engineered things. But I don’t admire when a chest of drawers that’s 200 years old costs less than a chest of drawers from an out-of-town flat-pack retailer. It is far better built, will last you longer, and if you don’t like the colour, you can just paint it. That was how I was brought up, and that’s what I believe.

What do you think about the crossover between crafting and property?

I love it. I just feel like those people who are able to take up a paintbrush or tile their bathroom have a real privilege. I think what’s amazing now is that we’ve got the internet, so you can go on YouTube and look at how something is made. And that is great.

There have been a number of people we’ve had on the show who first started crocheting during lockdown. They looked it up on YouTube, learnt it, and taught themselves. It’s so amazing what we’ve got out there.

Once you start caring for things, fixing them, mending them, looking at something and thinking, 'I could repurpose that,' you do get a very different feel about your surroundings.

Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas is available on channel4.com