Dear Auntie Christmas

Can't find a tree that keeps its needles, festive cocktails ideal for serving on a white carpet or a dress that'll make you as glam as the pregnant Sex and the City girls? Turn to our new agony aunt, Alice Hart-Davis, who is happy to solve your festive worries.

How can I turn a photograph of my children into a Christmas card? And can it be a print or do I have to unearth the negative?

A number of places can help you, even at this late stage. Kall-Kwik will scan a print (any size, don't bother digging out the negative) and run up cards (from £110.45 for 50) in around five days. Envelopes are included. Check for your nearest branch on their website (www.kallkwik.co.uk).

If you're anywhere near a Costco (Thurrock, Watford or Chingford, 020 8501 9300) and can find the negative, they'll do 50 greetings cards for £14.91. They can scan 6x4in photos, but results, as they admit, can be variable.

Those with digital cameras can download imaging software from www.jessops.com, tinker with the photo to get it just right, and dispatch it to Jessops's internet photo service. They will turn it into A6-sized cards with a choice of greetings on the inside (£9.99 for four cards, £79.99 for 100). Call 0800 652 9898 for your nearest branch (or for technical assistance, call 0800 652 6400).

I want to take my small boy to see Santa but can't face department stores. Where can I go in London for a more restful encounter with the old man in a beard?

London Zoo, oddly enough, has a great grotto open at weekends and from 21-24 December, plus nativity scenes including real camels and Santa's reindeer. But it's popular, so it's best to book: try online at www.londonzoo.org, or with a credit card on 0845 601 1597; £12.50 for one adult and one child nonmembers, and £3.50 for one child who's a zoo member.

London's only outside grotto is on the East Piazza at Covent Garden (noon-8pm every day, until the 24th), with a mulled wine and stollen stall for adults to ease the pain of queueing.

For little ones who can be overwhelmed by an organised visit to Santa, you can bump into him outside the Children's Book Centre (237 Kensington High Street, W8) every Saturday, where he stands ringing a bell and handing out chocolates to small passers-by.

How do I stop the pine needles falling off my tree?

Don't bring the tree inside until you have to - the central heating does most damage. Keep the tree away from heat sources, and if it's potted, keep it moist. If it's cut, stand it in a container of water and keep this topped up. Finally, get an anti-transpirant spray (about £3 at garden centres), which helps prevent needle-drop. Or buy a Noble or Nordmann fir, specially grown to keep its needles (£20-£25 from Homebase).

I'm always defeated by the culinary bits and bobs that make a real difference at festive gatherings. Where can I get goose fat, really nice sausages and mini Christmas puddings?

Since Jamie Oliver said how fantastic roast potatoes are cooked in goose fat, Sainsbury's sells out fast. It stocks tins of La Truffe Cendrèe (£2.49 for 340g, on special offer).

Highgrove Foods' Goose Fat can be found at Tesco's (£1.79 for a 160g jar), and you can order it through its online delivery service. (www.tesco.com).

Lidgates in Holland Park (020 7727 8243) sells 250ml jars for £4.50.

Goose fat will keep in your fridge for up to two years if properly conserved, says British Goose Producers, which can supply recipe leaflets (visit its website at www.goose.co for information about goose fat and buying and cooking geese).

For sausages: the British Sausage Appreciation Society recommends Simply Sausages in Farringdon (020 7394 7776), Lidgates in Holland Park (as before) and Brian Randall in Wandsworth Bridge Road (020 7736 3426), which also does wonderful pickles and hams, and opens at 5am on Christmas Eve.

To order mini Christmas puddings, contact 020 8801 7948. Luxury puddings sell for 95p each.

I'm planning a Christmas drinks party for 30 friends. My carpet is white. Can you suggest an imaginative cocktail that wouldn't stain if it was spilt?

Turn to Ben Reed's book of Cool Cocktails (Ryland, Peters and Small, £15) and try the following: For one serving:

Hot toddy

50ml whisky, 25ml fresh lemon juice, 2tsp honey, 75ml hot water, one cinnamon stick, five cloves, two lemon sticks. Skewer the lemon with the cloves and mix with ingredients in heatproof glass.

Peach bellini

Use a quart of fresh peaches, skinned (or good-quality peach juice), 12.5ml crëme de pÃche, dash of peach bitters (optional), champagne or fizzy wine. Blend the peach, add the crëme de píche and bitters, pour into champagne flutes and add champagne.

I'm seven-and-a-half months pregnant and desperate not to look like a pudding in a sack at parties. Help! What can I wear?

It's quite possible - think how glam Sarah Jessica Parker managed to look when she was about to pop. High heels will boost your spirits if your back can take it, and a knee-length skirt will show that you still have legs, as long as your ankles haven't ballooned to the size of young trees.

If they have, go for long, loose trousers (try pants by Chaiken, £190, from 9 London, by appointment only, 020 7838 0703, or Hennes has fabulous black trousers for pregnant ladies at £24.99) and a top with a neckline that shows off your blooming chest (try the new hippystyle, beaded, voluminous tops from Zara, Warehouse or Hennes).

Draw attention to your face. To keep your contours and prevent puffiness, you'll need to get a decent lymphatic drainage facial (about £75) from experts such as Bharti Vyas's girls (020 7935 5312).

Then dig out a lovely necklace, or invest in a jetcoloured beaded choker - Accessorize has fabulous ones priced from £12 to £17. Finally, finish off your look with attention grabbing earrings, also available from Accessorize.