Christmas with old-world charm

Every November, more than 500,000 twinkling lights and baubles transform Copenhagen's most visited tourist attraction, the Tivoli Gardens theme park, into a glittering Christmas wonderland.

From tiny mechanical elves making presents in little wooden hut installations to the delicious scent of spicy traditional Glogg (warm mulled wine) filling the air, everything in the theme park becomes a multi-sensory experience for the visitor - one that makes you feel like you have left cosmopolitan Copenhagen and stepped into a classic Hallmark Christmas card.

Download the December issue of The Life for more on the magical Tivoli Gardens.

Ankita Varma

Win a luxury holiday

The theme of the December issue of The Life is travel, so we are giving away two luxurious holidays - a seven-night stay at the Soneva Fushi Resort in the Maldives or four nights aboard the Aqua Mekong, a luxury river expeditions vessel by Aqua Expeditions.

The Maldives holiday, worth $22,300, consists of a stay at a beachfront two-storey Crusoe Villa, which comes with an open-air garden bathroom with bathtub and shower. A butler is at your service throughout your stay.Meals are not included.

The Aqua Mekong will take guests through Vietnam and Cambodia, exploring undiscovered areas of the Mekong River.

The luxury 62.4m-long ship has 20 spacious air-conditioned suites, each with a double-sink ensuite bathroom, a king-sized bed and floor-to-ceiling windows for full views of the river.

During the journey, guests can disembark for activities such as bicycle rides.

Download the December issue of The Life for contest details.

Chateau living

The meticulously kept vineyards in Bordeaux are punctuated with stately wine chateaux bearing famous names such as Margaux, Latour, Lafite-Rothschild and Haut-Brion.

Chateau La Lagune, which is owned by the Frey family, has six rooms that can accommodate up to 12 guests.

Tour its vineyards and winery and feast on the gourmet French country cooking that its chef, Catherine Stewart, whips up in a huge kitchen. Butler Stephane Morin anticipates every need.

The staff will arrange visits to wineries, organise special meals and make restaurant bookings.

For oenophiles, this could be the holiday to beat all holidays.

Tan Hsueh Yun

Christmas gift guide

Less than a month to Christmas and your gift list is not even half-filled?

If you are scratching your head over what to get for your loved ones, find inspiration in The Life's annual Christmas gift guide.

There are 10 picks each for women, men and children.

For the woman who has everything, how about a book on DIY lamps, tables and chairs from 50 designers and artists, including Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei?

For the James Bond-wannabe, consider a pair of Tom Ford Snowdon sunglasses, like the ones Daniel Craig wore in Spectre. Or toys for the big boy, like a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone or a Solowheel electric unicycle.

Speaking of toys, this children's gift list has a few, but not the kind you would expect. Think of a pen that dispenses melted plastic that hardens after "drawing", so you can create 3D structures.

Or a marble run that plays music, depending on how you construct it.

You might just want to buy these gifts for yourself.

Elisabeth Gwee