Of course, December is the month to decorate our houses for Christmas with garlands of paper chains and a tree festooned with tinsel and pretty glass baubles and wooden ornaments.  An open fire, a multi fuel stove or a wood fuel burner will add an extra festive feel to a room.  Not only are you blessed with the blazing heat of a fire, the crackle of burning logs or the glow of burning coal but your cast iron stove can be a second focal point of a room, rivalling the bright lights of the Christmas tree in the corner.

If your wood burning stove is surrounded by a fire surround and mantelpiece, then you could drape the latter with greenery from the garden or the local woods.  Cut small lengths of pine or fir from the trees in your garden and sprigs of holly from your holly bushes.  If you have ivy growing in your garden then you could cut lengths of ivy too. Then, arrange all this greenery in an artistic way along the length of your mantelpiece.  You could add some thin pieces of silver tinsel or a string of twinkling fairy lights and hide gold or silver spray-painted fir cones amongst the foliage.

There is nothing nicer than settling down on Christmas evening to watch a festive film on TV with a glass of mulled wine, a plate of mince pies and a raging fire burning in the grate or in your wood stove.