Stacey’s back with her family for another crafty Christmas

If Stacey Solomon isn’t everybody’s favourite Essex girl, then she should be.

Her down-to-earth attitude and open-hearted, honest approach to life have attracted many fans across the country.

She first won them over when she came third in The X Factor in 2009, before being crowned Queen of the Jungle in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! a year later. Thankfully, fame hasn’t changed her one bit, she’s still as refreshingly ‘normal’ as ever.

“I don’t think fundamentally I’ve changed – I don’t think my morals and values will ever change,” explains Stacey. “I’m bringing my children up as I was brought up – to care first and foremost about being happy and to try to be good people.

“I have a great family around me who keep me super-grounded. All the opportunities I’ve had have opened my eyes to a lot of what’s going on in the world. I’ve seen how accessible the world can be for some people, and inaccessible for others.”

Since finding reality TV show success, she’s become a Loose Women panellist, co-hosted Great British Bake-Off: The Professionals and fronted her own series, Sort Your Life Out. The latter, in which she helps overwhelmed families de-clutter their homes, was created after her Instagram posts about her own domestic set-up became hugely popular – she and husband Joe Swash have six children between them, so keeping their house, Pickle Cottage, in good order is important.

Among her most popular social media posts have involved Stacey’s love of crafting. Like Kirstie Allsopp, whose own seasonal upcycling series Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas is back for a new run this week, she loves creating something from almost nothing. That led the BBC to showcase her talents in Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas, which debuted last year.

Now she’s back for another go, but is keen to point out that crafting shouldn’t be something to get stressed about – for her it’s a relaxing hobby, and perfection is not important.

“It’s fine if it goes wrong… that’s part of the fun,” she smiles. “I’d say a bauble wreath is one of the easiest crafts you can do. It’s literally threading baubles on a hanger. It’s minimum effort and maximum satisfaction because it looks really posh!

“Crafting is something I can really lose myself in. Life for many people is really fast and busy, and when I craft my mind has to focus on the task at hand. You can have all these thoughts running around in your head but you have to push them to one side to focus on the thing in front of you. It’s so relaxing.”

This year, Stacey is once again joined by her family and professional organiser Dilly Carter, who help her demonstrate a few makes while transforming a local barn into the perfect site for a community party.

After that, it’s really time for the festive season to begin, alongside another of her favourite activities: “I’m most looking forward to spending time with Joe and the kids,” says Stacey, whose youngest child, a daughter born in February, will be witnessing her first Christmas. “It’s been a busy year so I’m excited to wind down and just do nothing.”