This year, I have vowed to get ahead of Christmas and not scrabble frantically as the days on the advent calendar make their inexorable way to twenty-five. With a little preparation, I hope to make the season one of joy instead of stress. When I have found a gift, I have wrapped it with care rather than cursing through the eleventh hour, Sellotape attached to everything but the present. My Christmas cake is made and the mincemeat ready in jars. If all else fails, it is good to know we shall have something to eat.
Because, November is the most miserable of months. Endless dreer, drecht days do nothing for the spirit and the mounting anxiety as Christmas hoves into view doesn’t help either.
So I think I have found a tonic. Creative projects, sociable activities and candle-light are the perfect antidote for gloom. Though I appreciate that this post is going out on the 1 Dec, I hope that some of these activities will inspire you to do something festive as the holidays approach. Nothing takes more than half a day, and plenty just half and hour.
And though I can’t compete with the Martha Stewarts of the world, I can enjoy having at least a few little things that I can point to and say, ‘I made that!’
Feed the cake
At craft club, a friend talked about making her Christmas cake. My first thought was, ‘What? Already?’ Then I realised that Christmas was now only weeks away and if I were to have any chance of making a nice, moist, well-sozzled cake, I would have to start now.
Most years, I only remember a week ahead and so have little time to feed it with brandy. This year, I plan to have my cake fail the breathalyzer test. Hopefully, it will keep well into the New Year too – if it isn’t eaten first.
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat
Wreath making with friends
When my lovely friend, Jane, offered to do a wreath making workshop with us, we jumped at the chance. She very kindly sourced all the materials we needed and we brought extra greenery and something for lunch.
Unlike most of my craft mornings, we were very quiet, concentrating hard on following instructions. In only a couple of hours, our bare wire frames were festooned with flora and ready to hang on the door.
Working together, we were able to swap tips and ideas, laugh at mistakes and congratulate each other on our achievements. Projects complete, we could settle to a delicious shared lunch and admire our handiwork.
It was a joyous morning that was full of Christmas spirit. (Bit like my cake!)
Mincemeat
Inspired by my success with the wreath, I decided to make even more Christmas treats. The mincemeat below was a very economical one. It used up all the spare ingredients from the cake, some vegetable suet that was mere months away from its sell-by date and some delicious dried foods on the shelves. The pretty labels had been languishing in a drawer waiting for their opportunity to shine.
Of course, now I shall have to make mince pies – but I shall worry about that another day.
Table decorations
Inspired by my friend’s German copy of Landlust magazine and having begged a bag of moss from my friend Jane, I was ready to make a floral table decoration. The base is a rather dinged springform tin, around which I wound some ivy from the garden. Moss secured the candles and then it was just a question of adding greenery and pine cones.
Serious flower arrangers look away! It is far from perfect, but I feel the greens and candles give the festive feel I’m looking for. And when the candles are lit, all you will see is the light.
Reusable crackers
This year, I really want to try to be as eco-conscious as possible. Gifts bought need to be practical and beautiful; wrapping recyclable where possible and decorations natural rather than plastic. As part of this aim, I decided to try to make a reusable cracker.
It was more straight-forward than I thought. I had left-over fabric and only needed some cracker fillings. These I found on Ebay for a few pounds, loo roll cardboard tubes we had saved, and the treat was a teabag!
If you would like to make some, here’s how (and I’m sure that there are even more professional guidelines on YouTube)
- Cut a piece of fabric approximately 30 cm by 15cm. A fat quarter should yield you enough for 6 crackers
- If you want to add an embellishment (I had a scrap of Hello Kitty fabric left) stitch that onto the right side of the fabric.
- Fold the fabric in half, length-wise, right sides facing and sew by hand or machine.
- Using pinking shears, cut along all the edges. This will reduce the size of the seam and give a cool ‘cracker-like’ look to the ends.
- Turn right-side out and slide in the loo roll tube or rolled piece of card.
- Fill with a gift, joke, snap and crown.
- Make sure the card is centred and then tie the ends with ribbon or even long scraps of fabric.
- Your crackers can be used as bespoke wrapping for an expensive gift, or ‘cards’, or for the dinner table. When the holidays are done, simply store them away for next year.
Wildlife baubles
With temperatures free-falling into single digits, it is also time to think of the denizens of the garden. Though there are still plenty berries on the shrubs and ivy, I think the birds and squirrels deserve a treat along with the rest of us. I learned how to make these wildlife baubles at a seed swap last year and with suet left over from the mincemeat, thought it time to make some more.
It really couldn’t be simpler and a lovely activity to do with children.
All you need is: vegetable suet, pine cones, birdseed, string or twine. Warm the suet in your hands and when it is nice and sticky, press into the pine cones. Roll the cones in birdseed, attach the string and there you are! For a deluxe version, press peanuts and raisins into the pine cones before adding the suet. (Avoid the raisins if you have a dog though, as they are highly toxic for them.) Hang on trees in the garden.
There’s nothing like home(made)
With so many Christmas preparations done this month, I am looking forward to rather than dreading the main event. There is still plenty to do – writing cards and sourcing gifts are next on my list, but they feel manageable instead of overwhelming. And the pleasure of having made even a few things helps remove the sour taste of commercialism that often taints the holidays. This year, Christmas is a bit wonky and homemade, but like my children’s primary school decorations, all the more precious for it.