Carol Stockill started her career with M&S as a Satuday girl at the Darlington store and is now Head of Christmas.

Women's Editor Christen Pears talks to the woman known as Christmas Carol.

GETTING ready for Christmas is difficult enough at home - presents to buy, cards to write, the tree to decorate - but imagine what it must be like for Carol Stockill, the woman responsible for Christmas at Marks & Spencer.

Carol began her career with M&S as a Saturday girl at the Darlington store 30 years ago. Her mum was working as a part-time assistant in the food section and encouraged Carol to take on a Christmas job while she was still at school. It seems appropriate considering that she is now Head of Christmas.

Affectionately known to her colleagues as Christmas Carol, her role encompasses every aspect of the business, from marketing strategy to product placement in stores. She keeps a watchful eye on the Yuletide shopping habits of the nation, taking notes of what can be improved and working on the shop floor.

Born in Greenock, Scotland, in 1958, she moved to Darlington when her father was promoted in the fire service.

"It was a very, very nice area to grow up in. We were on the border of the North Yorkshire Moors so I got the best of everything," she says.

"It's got a 'get on with life' attitude and that means what you certainly don't do is procrastinate too much."

Carol feels proud she started out as a sales assistant and made her way up through the ranks, working at stores across the country for 15 years.

Since then, she has had a number of roles within the company's head office in Baker Street in London, as well as an international assignment in New York, but she says it's her time on the shop floor that gave her most insight into the nation's shopping habits. "In itself, that's one of the things that positioned me to be able to do this job. I had experience of the majority of the UK in terms of where we trade. The job I do is about pulling together all the experts in the business and you need that knowledge and background to be able to do that."

Co-ordinating Christmas for M&S for the past three years has given her a unique insight into our festive shopping habits.

"As a population, we have changed. We've got less time on our hands, so it's inevitable that there is some stress involved. What people want is for the retailers to take away some of that stress by making things easier - and we can. We have great gift ideas, online shopping, food ordering and do a huge range of prepared food, all of which can help.

"Another thing is that shopping has become a lot more of a social activity. It's not just shopping, it's part of leisure as well. That would have been inconceivable ten years ago. So part of my job is finding out what customers want and when they want it."

Carol has also learned from the way other retailers approach the festive season both in the US and mainland Europe. She and her team have visited stores from New York to Minneapolis, Copenhagen to Munich to check out how they approach Christmas.

One of the big things that stands out, she says, is the use of red and elaborate displays. As a result M&S now features a lot more red products at Christmas and the stores are more festively decorated. This includes the now customary cranberry-coloured Magic & Sparkle bags, which replace the familiar green ones during the festive season.

So, what do we want for Christmas?

"Fundamentally, everyone wants to have that feeling of happiness," says Carol. "For some, it's about being with family. Secondly, it's about giving and that can mean anything from a major piece of electrical equipment to a £3 cookery book a child has bought for mum. People want to be able to create their own sense of happiness."

What they don't want she says, is to start thinking too much about Christmas until Halloween and bonfire night are out of the way, although there are certain sections of the population who are more organised than others.

"Groups who tend to shop a little earlier are the older population, who don't want to be caught up in the Christmas rush, and people with children for whom time is precious, or those who are working to a budget and who need to stagger the cost.

"It's still the lads who leave it to the last minute. Fifty-one per cent of men are buying ten days before, as well as younger professionals who are too busy having a good time in the run-up to Christmas, so you've got to recognise their needs as well."

This year, Carol says she will be spending the festivities with her parents as always, but in Darlington for the first time in ten years. And top of her Christmas wish-list? "Some sleep, I think!" she says with a laugh.