Every year, around now, the same message arrives in my inbox. "We've just realised we haven't sorted Christmas. Is it too late?"

The short answer is that it's later than ideal, but it's rarely too late. You just have to plan a little differently.

August feels too early to think about Christmas. It isn't. Here's why the families who get the ski chalets, the festive city hotels and the winter sun villas they actually want are booking them right now.