Throughout advent this year, I have tried to focus on finding and celebrating my own small pleasures of Christmas. Some might be shared by lots of you, some are probably specific to me and my family. It varies every year.
I have always loved Christmas but it can be a tricky time and I think I feel this more as I, and the children, get older. As parent to an eighteen (!) and fifteen year old, the magic of small children and Father Christmas is lessened and our traditions are different. That's not to say that the magic of Christmas is gone, but it is different. (And we all know that the "magic" of Christmas is down to the invisible labour of mostly women planning, thinking, shopping, wrapping, preparing, organising and juggling.*) What we all want and need from Christmas is different. The anticipation is lovely but the pressure is huge. The juggle between prioritising rest while seeing all the friends and family you want to see, the push and pull of self care versus a busy calendar, is always a challenge. It is always an especially hectic time of year for us with six Christmas birthdays, one of which is Bella's. And so this year I have enjoyed noticing our rituals and traditions as I find them grounding. I have deliberately sought the comfort of repetition and the familiarity of nostalgia, especially when life is so very busy (and sometimes stressful, especially in a classroom at end of term before Christmas).
I visited a Winter Fair with my mum, sister, nieces and Bella. I bought Christmas presents and just enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere and displays.
I hung the same advent calendar I have been hanging for years, and I fill it with chocolates each night for the kids. This is a tradition I don't think I could ever stop doing. I felt nostalgic for the cardboard advent calendars of my childhood, the sort with pictures behind the doors, and ordered myself one with a whippet on it.
I got our the nativity scene. There are so many memories in this! The kids loved playing with the figures when they were little and I used to find Sylvanian Family mice and Playmobil Santas mixed in with Mary and Joseph.
The Christmas reading pile was put into place. This is one of my favourite things about Christmas.
I treated myself to a new Christmas book, to add to the others on the shelf.
And enjoyed listening to others on Audible while waiting to pick up Bella from work. (Although since taking this photo, Bella has passed her driving test so can now get herself everywhere, and even pick me up from my work Christmas party, as she did on Friday night.)
I had a very festive day in London for my book group's annual Christmas meet up. We had a delicious, long lunch at the Wolseley and then wandered around the shops, looking at the beautiful window displays.
I wrote some Christmas cards. Less and less each year, but I still like to write them when I have time.
I received some truly lovely ones in return, including this inspired mini-advent calendar and a beautiful hand-painted one. So clever!
I also continued with my tradition of turning last year's Christmas cards into this year's gift tags. I remember my mum doing this when we were little. I use a 3 inch hole punch I bought from either Hobbycraft or Amazon, I can't remember, to get a perfect circle shape, then a normal hole punch to make a small hole for the thread.
I love doing this. It gives me double the enjoyment of last year's cards.
We hung the same decorations on the tree, an eclectic mixture of old and new, handmade and shop-bought.
I spent a delightful morning with my mum and sister making a wreath. I have chosen to hang it on the inside because the weekend we made it, it was exceptionally windy and stormy, and I didn't want it to fly off down the street!
It was fun making the new front door Christmassy. I found these old stars I made a few years ago from paper bags glued together and I like the way they catch the light.
Angus and I watched The Box of Delights, as we do every year. This year it's been on BBC4 so you can find it on BBC iPlayer.
We had a lovely flying visit to Yorkshire to see our friends in Holmfirth and plan next year's holiday. Festive and something to look forward to in the new year!
I attempted some crafting, with mixed success. I saved up loads of tomato puree tubes, opened them out and washed them for their shiny gold interior.
I've seen lots of ideas online for turning them into garlands and tree decorations.
Cutting out the shapes was easy but it was hard to add any detail. I tried pens and pencil but they didn't really show up. I probably need something harder or sharper.
I meant to string them all up with gold wire, but they kept breaking when I tried to poke a little hole through the top, and I didn't have any wire....so I made some stars from an old book instead.
Now it is the Christmas holidays. I have wrapped my presents (last night, in front of Die Hard 2), and cleaned the house. I am going to pick up the turkey later then ice my Christmas cake. Tonight we pick up my mother in law from the airport then tomorrow I need to do lots of cooking, including roasting our turkey crown and ham, peeling and roasting enough potatoes for thirteen, and making a Yule Log. We are going to my sister's for Christmas Day but we all bring a different element of the meal. I have to bring roast potatoes, gravy and the Christmas pudding. Then we heat everything up and eat together. It works well as she has the space to seat lots of people but not the workload of having to cook absolutely everything. I still order us a turkey crown and ham as I love the leftovers and will make lots of lunches and dinners from them during the week after Christmas.
I can feel myself starting to relax. Yesterday I made a batch of mince pies (this recipe) while listening to this wonderful podcast. Then my friend Charlotte came over for lunch and we had a lovely time catching up. After she left, I popped out for a quick solo walk as - for once - the sun was shining and I wanted to feel the cold air and winter sun on my face. I felt more peaceful in that moment than I have in weeks. I miss our dog walks a lot and I have resolved to get out for as many walks as possible over the holidays.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope the festive seasons brings you what you need. Thank you for being here and reading and leaving comments, I appreciate it.
*Just to be clear - I am not making a comment on my own situation here. John shares a great deal of the mental and physical work involved in family life, but I see a big imbalance in so many of my friends' relationships.
