Sorry Mr Lauren, it'll be cheap and cheerful for us

We are knee-deep in November now.

- Carrie Carlisle

It's a point in the calendar when middle-aged women like myself have decisions to make.

Important ones.

Christmas decor related ones.

Not life and death, but close.

Because, even if we aren’t anywhere near the putting up decorations stage yet there is still prep work to be done.

A classic pincer movement of both online and high street investigations already revealed to us this year’s top festive interior trend:

“Ralph Lauren Christmas”

This is good in the sense that Scandi minimalism is definitely over, and therefore we are now allowed more than three baubles on our tree.

But bad in the sense that Ralph Lauren is a billionaire with a luxe lifestyle brand. Whereas we, in this neck of the woods, mainly shop for our festive fare in Poundland.

There are so many ways in which this could go wrong.

And very few scenarios in which things could be right.