Trend-watchers wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Donald Trump’s staffers lit rose-scented candles in the West Wing after the US election in an attempt to lighten the mood as he railed against President-elect Joe Biden. After all, 2020 has been a year of hunkering down and optimising our home environments.

“We’ve noticed a definite increase in sales this year and expect the festive season to be very busy,” says Julien Pruvost, creative director of the French candle maker Cire Trudon. “At the start of November, we were already strongly selling our Christmas line all around the world.”