'Tis the season to be very, very busy. Here are the highlights.

Even without all the pressure at work, it would have been challenging to do all this stuff AND write about it.  Your correspondent only has so much discretionary time.  Here's a summary of the best holiday events.

Winchester Christmas Market - It seems that England now has almost as many "European-style" Christmas markets as the German holiday heartland its copying.  It's Winchester that's become my holiday tradition.  Just half an hour south of our house, good park-and-ride that's free on Sundays, excellent variety of craftspeople and an achingly picturesque site tucked in the shadow of one of England's most beautiful cathedrals.  Stall holders are either craftspeople (particularly fertile ground for silversmiths, glass artists and weavers) or purveyors of unusual gift items.  I almost always find things for those hard to buy for people who seem to have everything.  And if you can't find something here, the town beyond still boasts a satisfying number of independent shops.

The Christmas Balls - This was the year when "Strictly Come Dancing" took over the party scene, forming the theme for both black tie events I attended.  My husband's military gang extended an alumni invitation to their annual gig.  Organised by serving soldiers and put on in their Territorial Army HQ, it has a sweet dance-in-the-gym feel that evokes memories of high school.  Made much more sophisticated by a military chamber orchestra playing for us over cocktails.  After dinner, a couple of Strictly stars did three display dances, then gave a cha cha lesson.  Which, much to my surprise, got most of the room on its feet.

The Women in Advertising and Communications London (WACL) ball was in a different league, as you'd expect of a major fundraiser organised by female execs who run events for a living.  The ballroom of the Savoy has always been one of London's better venues, and is now looking magnificent after the grande dame's three-year, £220 million renovation.  This was a brilliantly themed event, honing in on the exotic South American end of ballroom dancing.  A troupe of Brazilian Mardi Gras performers welcomed us and ended cocktail hour with a boisterous drum procession into the dining room, where they showed off their capoeira moves before leaving us to eat a three-course Brazilian dinner.  Another pair from TV's Strictly showed up for a tango and pop artist Ellie Goulding dropped by to sing a few hits.  The WACL organisers certainly know how to warm people up for a charity auction; the pounds were flowing.

The Montcalm at the Brewery, London - This quirky, modern boutique hotel is worth considering for anyone who needs to be in The City (we booked it for the military ball) or simply for someone who's after a more unusual London base.  Lord knows it's well off the tourist track, on a quiet street in between the Barbican and Moorgate; the area is a ghost town on weekends.  Which means you can get some deals on the rates (and street parkng).  The hotel links several buildings in what was once the Whitbread Brewery, a late-Georgian model of mass production.  Thus you get picturesque, historic exteriors and hip modern intetiors.  Lots of black and grey, exposed stone, modern sculpture, a waterfall dribbling down a lobby wall, etc.  In our room, a glass panel separated bathing area from sleeping.  You could lounge in the tub and watch TV.

Bombay Sapphire Distillery Tour - This wins my vote for best new tourist attraction in our area in years, and is sure to be somewhere I bring visitors repeatedly.  Bombay has spent a fortune refurbishing the Georgian mill on the river Test that made paper for British banknotes in the Victorian era.  It's a gorgeous, rural spot about 20 minutes south of Basingstoke and would be worth a wander for the architecture and surrounding woodland and riverscape alone.  The distillery tour is well organised and cleverly scripted, but rises above the average in three ways.  First, there are two modern glass houses in the middle of the complex where you can see the botanicals used in the gin as they grow in nature.  Second, there's a room of scents where you have a sniff off all those botanicals, in several forms, punching a card to indicate which you like best.  Finally, you end up in a cocktail bar where they whip up a drink for you based on the aroma profile you selected.

Ming: 50 Years That Changed China - I didn't get the chance to linger with an audio guide in this latest British Museum blockbuster, but I did wander through twice.  The show focuses on a time period roughly analogous to the English Civil Wars when China was, arguably, at the height of its artistic flowering.  The items here ... many never seen outside of China before ... present an elegant, sophisticated and advanced society of achingly good taste.  Not only is all of this stuff beautiful in its own right, but you can see influences on style to the present day, particularly in the pottery and painted scrolls.  There are sumptuous Imperial robes, beguiling portraits, haunting temple figures and fascinating weapons and armour.  I was particularly intrigued by the lacquer furniture which, when displayed alongside an explanation of the complexity of the process, is awe-inspiring.

The Christmas Films (The Hobbit, Paddington) -In our Tolkein-obsessed household, the release of Peter Jackson's final Middle Earth saga was always going to be a big event.  My husband had a few quibbles with just how much artistic license Jackson's team took with the plot, but on the whole enjoyed it.  As did I.  Which, given the fact that at least 65% of the film is fight scenes, is an accomplishment.  It would have been easy to slip into boredom, but the characterisation and magnificent sets held my interest.  Paddington required a small friend for admission and was a sweet, innocent, funny joy.