David Foster Wallace once wrote that people book holidays on cruise ships in “a last-ditch effort to salvage sanity and self from some inconceivable crockpot of pressure”. But what about the ship’s catering staff? Our Christmas special looks at the dizzying degree of preparation and military discipline required to feed 7,600 pampered souls.   

Another one of our festive features explains why one of The Economist’s data journalists found himself restricted at every betting site in Britain—and how people who gamble for a living evade the bookies’ efforts to exclude them.