Coincidentally, the 2012 Waddesdon Christmas theme is all things British, fitting for a year which included the Jubilee and the Olympics. But next year is Vienna, which is why the Waddesdon team will be jetting over to Austria in the New Year to gather information and inspiration and star planning 2013’s Christmas display.

Tilly Soames, the manor’s Christmas co-ordinator, explains: “The Rothschilds had five children who all made their fortunes in different cities – Frankfurt, Paris, Naples, London and Vienna – and this year is London’s turn.”

“Waddesdon is very ornate and sumptuous, with velvets and silk red walls. It is very elegant and OTT and lends itself to celebration,” she adds.

If you hadn’t gathered, Christmas is taken very seriously at this local stately home, where visitors gasp in awe at the sumptuous and original displays which adorn the Rothschild historic house, built in 1720 and now a highlight of the National Trust’s portfolio.

So where does Tilly start when she sits down to plan the displays? “Well, we set the theme and then have a meeting with the curator who knows what we have in the collection and house to tie in.

“Everything has to be big in terms of scale just to make an impact, so for example the Christmas trees need to be 15ft tall at least, and we have three in one room with 1,000 pin lights on each.

“The Christmas display needs lots of ooh-ahh factor and nostalgia, while maintaining its traditional angle, so we also tend to use well known children’s stories to emphasis the theme. But in terms of vision, we aim to lighten people’s mood and make the displays accessible to everyone, so try to picture a grandmother taking her grandchildren around Waddesdon.”

All this artistic licence then needs to be put into practice, with all the staff at Waddesdon jumping on the Christmas bandwagon. “Everyone at Waddesdon takes ownership of the Christmas theme and works creatively together, from the car park attendants to the in-house team, although when they see me in May, they all groan,” Tilly laughs.

But on to this year. What can visitors expect? “Well we have the willow tunnel leading you into the coach house where there is letter-writing to Father Christmas. And then our version of the Lion,The Witch and the Wardrobe with fake fur coats in a wardrobe into Tumnus’ sitting room, and Aslan in the corner, with a sleigh and reindeer.

“And the reindeer trail, which is magical. Oh a whole host of things,” she smiles. “We have Alice falling down the tunnel, a Christmas feast fit for Victoria and Albert laid out in the White Drawing Room, a train set in the Billiard Room and a Covent Garden market scene in the pantry.

“We want to capture imaginations,” Tilly adds unnecessarily, “because Christmas at Waddesdon is made for families. But people must book because it does get sold out. And it’s great for us because it makes Waddesdon more accessible, as well as being great fun.”

Next year Vienna then? “Yes, it’s our last city, which is very exciting, so I’m hoping for lots of delicious cakes and good stuff in Austria when we visit. We don’t know about 2014 yet, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it because it’s still a pure pleasure even after 20 years,” she concludes, before hurrying off to complete the finishing touches.