Real stories · The Christmas jumper that isn't a joke

I've spent years dodging novelty Christmas jumpers — this is the one that finally looks like clothes

The Christmas jumper that isn't a joke — that's what this is. I'm 67, and for years the Christmas jumper question had exactly two answers: something with a flashing reindeer that comes out for one lunch and itches all the way through it, or nothing festive at all. My friend Sandra has a drawer full of the first kind. I had the second.

What I wanted was something genuinely festive I could wear like a normal jumper — all of December, not just the day itself.

Then I found the Lunaris from a British label called York Boutique — a cream jumper covered in little watercolour Christmas trees, stockings and baubles in soft reds and navy, with a neat row of buttons at the neckline.

The difference is the print. It's painted rather than cartoonish — more Christmas card than cracker joke — which is why it works at the carol concert AND at the supermarket on an ordinary Tuesday in December. The soft blend is genuinely comfortable with none of the novelty-jumper itch, the relaxed fit skims rather than clings, and the little buttons at the neck dress it up just enough. Malcolm looked at it and said 'that's actually nice', which from him is a headline.

Watercolour trees and stockings instead of a flashing reindeer — festive enough for the carol concert, pretty enough for an ordinary Tuesday, and comfortable enough to live in all December.

At £29.95 — half the usual £60 — it works out at about a pound a day for December, and with a fortnight to send it back and free delivery there was nothing to lose.

It has since done two coffee mornings and one carol rehearsal, Sandra has asked where it's from twice, and my granddaughter has approved it as 'not embarrassing' — the highest honour available. It was £29.95 in the sale, half the usual £60.

If your Christmas jumper drawer is also a choice between a joke and nothing, do have a look. The Lunaris is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 240 women, it comes in UK sizes 8/10 all the way to 24/26 — and jumpers this wearable are exactly what's gone by December.