Dick, Angel, Dorothy and Arthur, as well as Angel's parents Jenni and Steve prepare to celebrate a family Christmas in France. With an old 19th-century chateau ledger found in the attic and classic cookbooks to hand, the Strawbridges take inspiration from Christmases past, discovering what food, festivities, gifts and games would have been like in bygone eras. Dick and Angel's imagination goes into overdrive as they create a winter wonderland with an ice rink at its heart. Later, as the family settles down to dinner, so the sound of traditional hand bells rings out across the chateau and they wonder if their exploration of the past will create chateau traditions for the future.

With autumn just around the corner, it's a chance for the Strawbridge family to make the most of the wild larder on their doorstep. Dick is determined to make sloe gin, while Angel presses on with her plan to create a library in the pepper pot tower.

Dick and Angel Strawbridge's to-do list is as long as ever, and with no guests, weddings or events at the chateau this year, they use their engineering and design skills to tackle some major projects. First on the list is transforming one of the old outbuildings into a supersized workshop for chateau-sized jobs.