Christmas recipes are everywhere. Online, and in a wealth of magazines and cookery books. It made us wonder what people did back in the days before all this information was widely available to everyone. How did the generations before us know how to cook what for the festive table? Mostly, it was down to recipes being passed down from generation to generation. Timings for turkey, stuffings for goose, plum puddings, and other traditional Christmas foods were concocted successfully, by mothers, daughters and grandmothers. Some of us still use the little tips we learned as children, when our mothers made the Christmas dinner. We probably didn’t even know then that they were sinking in! Many of our chefs and producers still use recipes from their family members. When they tell us their personal recollections of food, they often credit their success to the guidance of mothers and grandmothers, learning simply by watching what they did. Which is probably why they have made damn fine cooks who haven’t lost that sense of tradition. The joining of tradition and food is what makes this time of year special. Have you got any recipes you always use at Christmas – ones that have survived generations of festive family gatherings? There’s always a favourite in every household. We’d like to know yours…