Beck is busy learning the words of an enormous selection of carols she'll be performing at the Sydney Opera House Christmas Carol Singalong on December 22 and 23.

The stage and screen star admits the task is challenging. "Although the beloved standards such as O Holy Night are included, quite a few of the carols are less well-known," she says. "I'm learning many from scratch."

Carols don't always come easy, adds the Beauty and the Beast and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang leading lady. "There's no real story to follow in them. Musical theatre songs are much quicker to learn."

With more than 15 Christmas concerts around the country between now and Christmas Day, Beck is working harder than Santa's most industrious elf. "I need four more hours in the day," says the mum-of-two, who is married to actor Ian Stenlake.

The Opera House concerts will be her last of the season, but Beck's mum has also asked her to sing the Christmas midnight service at the family's local church near Ballina, where they'll be spending Christmas. "By then I'll be totally caroled out," Beck says. "But I could hardly say no to mum!"

Her frenzy of caroling marks the end of a packed year, during which she produced a debut album after 29 years in the biz – and then another, hot on its heels, with her Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stage co-star David Hobson. There's been touring, workshops and her work as an ambassador for the Australian Children's Music Foundation. "And we've just bought an apartment," adds Beck, who will move from Sydney's Avalon to new eastern suburbs digs in the new year.

For the singalong concerts, Beck will be accompanied by a 48-piece Sydney International Orchestra conducted by the gloriously named Brian Castles-Onion.

"Brian is great fun and we share some tips with the audience about how to breathe and produce your voice, so it's very interactive," she says. "Everyone's encouraged to sing along and I hope they'll join in as much as possible – I'll need the backup!"

Beck says that despite all the hard work, she's soaking up the seasonal cheer. "It's a great time of year to perform and be around all these beautiful feelings of gratitude and peace and joy. I feel blessed to be part of it. Just call me, Carol!"

Christmas at The House – Christmas Carol Singalong featuring Rachael Beck: December 22-23.

Dress to impress for the virtual premiere of The Mule

If the S team ruled the world, film premieres would be different. We'd invite everyone and they could wear anything they wanted, eat and drink throughout and chat to the big stars. We think normal premieres are overrated. Nothing spoils a good movie faster than watching it among strangers in a formal setting, wearing brutal heels and a frock that will only fit only if you stay standing up.

Angus Sampson, star, co-writer and director of new movie The Mule, agrees and he's made our dreams come true. Today, at 3pm he will stage the world's first virtual premiere. You'll be able to do all of the above while enjoying one of the best Aussie releases in a long while – without leaving home.

Here's how it works: first you download (from video-on-demand services such as iTunes, Quickflix, Googleplay) or buy or rent the flick on DVD, hit play at 3pm, and start interacting on Twitter with Sampson and his castmates and crew, who include co-writer Leigh Whannell (creator of the Saw franchise), Hugo Weaving, Noni Hazlehurst, Georgina Haig, Ewen Leslie and John Noble.

It's not only more fun, says Sampson, but a sensible solution for herding a big-name cast scattered around the globe. Whannell, for example is in LA, where the premiere will start at 8pm. "But our main aim was to make it as accessible as possible for everyone," Sampson adds. "We've put the audience first from the beginning."

The premiere reflects the film's unorthodox release – it skipped cinemas and went straight to video-on-demand, where it hit number one independent new release on iTunes in the US in its first week. The Mule was part-financed by a group of Sampson's NSW schoolmates, including Sydney hotelier Alistair Flower, who hosted one of The Mule's handful of cinema previews at Collaroy Cinema and The Collaroy Hotel.

Part caper, part thriller, The Mule centres around hapless would-be drug smuggler Ray Jenkins and his determination not to defecate for the cops when he's arrested with a bellyful of class-A evidence. Poo features strongly, and Sampson's backside has a supporting role.

"It's famous now," says the Paper Giants, Party Tricks and Mad Max: Fury Road actor. "I should probably get it insured."

Sampson promises plenty of hi-jinks in the spirit of his script this afternoon. "We want people to get creative; post photos of themselves watching scenes, react to the action, maybe cook something inspired by the film." After watching the gloriously gross pivotal scene, we're thinking Thai moneybags – but to say any more would give away the plot.

As for Sampson – he's planned a special look for the big event. "I shall achieve a lifelong dream and attend a film premiere … naked," he says.

Pia Miller helps charity brick by brick

It can be tough and she misses them, but that's a lesson the kids need to learn, says the matter-of-fact Pia, who prefers to call herself a "worker bee" than the W word, which does seem made for ladies far fluffier than she is.

"It hasn't been easy being away from my loved ones, but when opportunities present themselves, you have to take them and my boys need to see that. Sometimes in life you'll be right out of your comfort zone, but you have to step up," she says of her first acting gig.

Learning is something Miller values highly, which is why you'll see her fronting up as ambassador for the Cotton On Foundation's I Give a Brick campaign. The initiative aims to raise $1 million to build a school in Nubbunga, Southern Uganda, by encouraging everyone to buy special products in Cotton On stores throughout December.

"What I like most about I Give a Brick is that 100 per cent of the price from these products goes to the cause," says Miller.

"As a mother I know how important it is for our kids to get a good education. Here, we can take it all for granted sometimes."

She was moved to tears when she learnt learned how desperately the kids in Nubbunga want to learn. "In order for children to go to school, they are required to take a packed lunch," she says. "Some kids would put stones in their lunchbox because they had no food to take, but were determined to go to school."

cottononfoundation.org

From haute couture to home cooking

Perhaps food and fashion aren't mutually exclusive after all. Stephanie Conley has been flitting between the two for some years but the ex-fashion designer has now decided her heart lies with cooking.

This week Conley, who in the early 2000s produced an eponymous label worn by the likes of Naomi Watts, Kim Cattrall and Naomi Campbell, launches The Hostess, an online recipe book and blog. It's the culmination of Conley's intermittent journeys into food, including a spell at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and running a commercial catering company.

"I'm very happy moving over to food completely," Conley told S, as she prepared for the launch at her home in Sydney's eastern suburbs. "It's another creative outlet. You can use colour and texture in the same way as you do in clothing design."

The Hostess embraces fresh produce and happy gatherings at home and Conley says that's what life is about now she's more settled and has a two-year-old son with husband Oskar. Back in the day, she dated Owen Wilson and Naomi Watts' brother Ben, and lived for a while in Rome, where she drew inspiration for many of the dishes on the website.

"I spend more time at home now and like to entertain. The Hostess is about home-style cooking and sharing with family and friends," she says.

Tina's festive Arena

At this time of year, the gentle tinkling of the David Jones piano can be all that stands between the Christmas shopper and a crowd-induced festive meltdown. So we're happy to hear songbird Tina Arena will be lending her voice to the Christmas cause this Thursday at 12.30pm.

Arena will be crooning The Things We Do For Love by the piano on the ground floor, providing a soothing soundtrack to all that intensive retail activity. The song is part of the store's Christmas campaign, and whenever you buy Arena's version on iTunes, a dollar goes to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.