S3 Ep4 DECK THE HALLS: Making your home festive and cosy

Did you know it is scientifically proven that decorating for Christmas can actually make you happier? Oh yes my friends, it is in the interests of our health that we get those fairy lights up... With the weather getting chillier outside, it is the perfect time to start thinking about how to make our homes festive and cosy, and a sanctuary of wellbeing and rest for the winter. 

This episode includes:

• Lots of ideas for decorating in a way that engages all the senses, and brings nature indoors.
• Wellbeing tips for inviting in rest
• Nature corner
• A beautiful writing prompt for connecting with the moon
• A fun and super easy crafting project to try
• Christmas traditions from around the world (from lovely listeners!)
• Recipes for hot drinks to bring joy, and nourish
• Get ahead tips before December arrives
• PLUS A lovely cosy giveaway (enter on my Instagram @bethkempton)

With inspiration from Christopher Yokel, @realsimplemagazine, Lucy Hunter @theflowerhunter, Bex Partridge of @botanical_tales, Grace Alexander of @graceaexanderflowers, @piajanebijkerk, Ark Redwood, Lisa Hood, Lisa Hood @lahoodyoga, Lizzie Kamenetzky @deliciouslizzie, @marinawrightwellness, Anja Dunk, @StEvalCandles and @royalmuseumsgreenwich.

PS See the full show notes here for recipe ingredients and other links.

Lovely free things for you:

·      CLICK HERE to download my free simple guide to making a wreath x

·      CLICK HERE to download the free Calm Christmas Planner 

·      CLICK HERE to register for my Winter Writing Sanctuary (Dec 28-Jan 6), also free this year 

Featured in this episode:

·      Cold by Christopher Yokel in Winter Poems: New and Selected by Christopher Yokel (self-published) p.9

·      The Flower Hunter: Creating a floral love story inspired by the landscape by Lucy Hunter (Ryland Peters Small) p.197

·      The Everyday Alchemist’s Festive Season Reimagined by Pia Jane Bijkerk (self-published) p.32

·      The Art of Mindful Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Meditation by Ark Redwood (Leaping Hare Press) p.113

·      Moon Yoga by Lisa Hood (Godsfield) p.63

·      Winter Cabin Cooking by Lizzie Kamanetzky (Ryland, Peters & Small) p.7 and p.166
·      Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk (Quadrille) p.4 and p.199
·      Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A little book of fe

Transcript

It’s the kind of cold that 

reaches into everything, 

that gathers up and 

swirls around the moon. 

The kind of cold that 

sharpens every star 

and every breath. 

A cold that makes 

candles and 

Christmas trees divine.

Welcome to Episode 4 of The Calm Christmas Podcast Season 3. I am your host, Beth Kempton, and those beautiful words were from a poem called Cold in Winter Poems by Christopher Yokel.

We are approaching the Japanese microseason known as ‘North wind blows leaves from the trees.’, it is getting chillier outside, and it is the perfect time to start thinking about how to make our homes festive and cosy, and a sanctuary of wellbeing and rest for the winter.

Some psychologists would say that decorating earlier can actually make you happier. Apparently there is science to back it up. I know from experience it’s true for me. I absolutely adore having a cosy home done up with fairy lights and candles as all of those things.  and I do it as early as I am permitted by Mr K. If it was up to me we’d be on November 1, but we do tend to be at the end of November. 

Let’s take a moment to think about our spaces before we dive into decorating. 

-       How do you want your spaces to feel – to you, to those you live with, to anyone who visits?

-       Do you want to encourage nostalgia this year? Or do you want something fresh and different? Do you want cosiness? Or as much light as you can find at this time of year?

-       Do you need a good clean and tidy before you start to beautify and decorate? I know I do. On my agenda this week is to clear every surface in the dining room and living room, clean all the windows, hoover and dust everywhere and then have a clean and bright canvas to work with. 

-       I have decided to get all the decorations down when the children are at school, and pick a whole bunch of them and then put the others back in the attic. Of course any beloved ones will stay, but I mean just streamlining so everything doesn’t just get put somewhere and the whole place feels messy again. How about you I wonder? I’ll leave the tree and the baubles up in the attic for us all to bring down together, because I always think that is part of the magic on the day we decorate.

If you are worried about the soaring costs of living, and about trying to stay warm as winter comes, but still wanting to enjoy a sense of cosiness, here are a few ideas from our community, many of which I use because I live in an old stone house with stone floors and it can get very cold:

-       Hot water bottles – I have one under my feet and on the chair in my writing desk from October onwards, and I carry one of around in my rucksack on long walks.

-       Flasks – you can save a fortune by taking your own hot drink out and about, and find a fine view looking out over the sea, or in a public park

-       Layers – vests, tights, leggings. My mum has knitted me countless ankle warmers and wrist warmers over the years, and they make such a difference at my writing desk. You can knit lovely things from unravelled jumpers from charity shops.

-       Slippers, especially if you have cold floors. The floors in my house are very old stone and are lovely and cool in the summer but freezing in the winter. Rugs, and slippers, are a must.

-       Blocking draughts – window frames, keyholes, under doors, can make a difference too. 

-       Community living rooms – with the support of utilities companies, here in the UK quite a few local councils are making a point of encouraging people into heated libraries, churches and theatres to keep warm, as well as to connect with others and get a sense of community spirit over the winter. Check with the council where you are

-       Keep moving – get involved with community activities, volunteering, 

-       Make warming drinks and food

-       Heating the room you spend most of your time in and making it as cosy and festive as possible.

-       Using candles – real or fake – to offer cosy lighting and give an extra impression of warmth.

These are few things I am thinking about this year to make our cottage extra cosy this year – I wonder about you?

-       Lights, candles, greenery

-       Cosy corner

-       Writing corner

-       Repaint a wall

-       Essential oils – which are good for winter?

-       Air purifying plants in the home if can’t open the windows. 

-       Hot baths with salts etc (recipe for bath salts)

-       Natural materials can warm up a space as well as connect you to the season – pumpkins, branches, seed heads, driftwood, other wood, stone and so on.

-       Rugs, a basket of blankets, throws over sofas, soft cushions, slippers

-       Photos of those you love and miss

-       Make a list of cosy things to do when it is dreadful weather outside, or on winter’s evening other than watch TV. This means having my knitting basket out by the armchair, craft projects ready in bags so I can pull them out if the girls fancy making something, without making a ton of mess etc.

And here are some tips from Real Simple Magazine for making your house smell Christmassy - 

-       Light a scented candle - One of my favourites is Winter Thyme made by St Eval in Cornwall. Not an ad – I bought a batch of tea lights in the sale at the end of winter last year and they still smell wonderful!

-       Simmer a pot “Whether your base is cider or just plain water, add it to a pot with oranges, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer it on the stove to fill your home with those mulling scents. Just keep an eye on the water level and add more as it starts to evaporate.” Personally I think you might as well make something you can drink if you do this, mulled apple, perhaps?

-       Use essential oils “Drop a blend of warm, calming essential oils—like frankincense, orange, cinnamon, rosemary, or pine—into your essential oil diffuser in the evenings for an infusion of holiday scents in the air.” Or put a few drops into a spray bottle filled with water to make a room spray.

-       Bake cookies

-       Switch out your hand soap

-       Infuse your shower “Hang a small bundle of dried herbs above the shower head to turn your morning ritual into a holiday event. Some herbs to consider hanging from your shower head are eucalyptus, rosemary, or lavender. Hanging eucalyptus in your shower can help reduce stress, alleviate nasal congestion, and lower blood pressure.”

-       Make scented pine cones – “Wash and dry your scavenged pine cones. Then, create a solution in a spray bottle of water mixed with a few drops of your favorite essential oil smells. We recommend cinnamon, orange, or pine. Then spritz your pine cones with the solution, and place them in a zip-top bag for 24 hours to allow the scents to marinate, and leave out wherever you want a holiday scent in the air.” (Bonus: The leftover solution can be used as a room spray!)

So, to actual decorating. For me going to get the tree from the forest or from a Christmas tree farm has been part of our family tradition for as long as I can remember. Last year, I didn’t know it would be our last Christmas with my mum, so I am extra glad that we invited her to ours in early December to join us on our trip to the farm where the children fed real live reindeer, and then we chose our tree, brought it back home and all decorated it together, with festive music playing, Mum’s favourite sherry and mince pies. It is a memory I will treasure always, just as I treasure memories of going to the ancient New Forest in Hampshire as a child to choose our tree.

We do also have a fake tree left over from when the girls were babies and I was scared of them eating the needles, and I am thinking about making space in my tiny writing room for that one. I think it will be dreamy to come downstairs at 5am and write by the light of the fairy lights on the tree.

I am a huge fan of natural decorations, so I’m going to share some of my favourite ideas for these in case they inspire you. I’d love to hear yours too – please do come and share them over on Instagram @bethkempton.

Top tips for natural decorations

<BL> 

·   Make garlands and swags from any leftovers, and run fairy lights through them for added twinkle. These are perfect for banisters, over a mantelpiece, suspended from the ceiling above a dining table or even along a headboard.

·   Bring several small potted trees inside to make a magical indoor forest.

·   Make stars from twigs. Simply construct two triangles of three twigs each, and fasten together with twine.

·   Wrap the dried stems of plants such as honesty in hessian, tie with raffia and hang from coat hooks or beams.

·   Gather a bunch of mistletoe and hang upside down for a kissing place. (Remove one berry for every kiss, and remember they are poisonous, so keep away from children and pets.)

·   Dry sliced oranges or lemons in a low oven, or a dehydrator if you have one, and string up as garlands or hang on the tree.

·   Make paper snowflakes from printer paper or the pages of old books, atlases or newspapers.

·   Tie cinnamon sticks together in bunches with festive ribbon or twine and hang from kitchen hooks or on the tree.

·   Gather pine cones and pile into bowls, either sprayed gold or silver or left natural.

·   Hang a tree branch on the wall and dangle decorations from it.

·   Make garlands from popcorn, cranberries, dried citrus peel or pine cones.

·   Use evergreens on a wreath base around a candle as a centrepiece, or draped along the length of your dining table as a central runner.

·   Fill a bowl with seasonal fruits, such as tangerines and pomegranates, or clove-studded oranges for a wonderful aroma.

·   Use sprigs of bay, rosemary and laurel to decorate presents wrapped in brown paper and tied with raffia, then pop them under the tree. 

·   Burnish logs with a heat tool to make wooden ornaments.

·   Fill a pitcher or metal watering can with a bunch of eucalyptus leaves or winter berries.

·   Make a Yule log.

·   Seasonal houseplants and flowers such as paperwhites, irises, amaryllis, freesias, cyclamens and azaleas are always popular.

·   Bake some gingerbread or salt dough stars, make a hole in each one with a knitting needle while they are still warm, and hang up with a tartan or velvet ribbon. 

·   Gather sticks of different lengths, lay them out in a ladder formation with the shortest at the top, then tie them to each other with string to create a miniature Christmas tree, or add numbered chocolate coins for a simple Advent calendar.

·   Fill a wicker basket with dried hydrangea heads or foraged greenery. 

·   Stack logs and decorate with fairy lights. This brings an especially lovely sense of warmth to an unused fireplace.

For the most beautiful sculptural cloud of winter flowers to hang over a Christmas dining table, I highly recommend Lucy Hunter of @theflowerhunter’s absolutely stunning book The Flower Hunter: Creating a floral love story inspired by the landscape where she guides you through it step by step. In it Lucy says,

“Through the year, I tend to keep flowers that just seemed too beautiful to discard and which have dried in the vase. I don’t have any real plan in mind for them; I just seem to have a problem in throwing any flowers out at all. But the festive holiday season offers a perfect opportunity to use them all. I don’t have a large number of different leaves or dried blooms, and the colour is that of dried parchment, apart from a few dahlia heads, but that’s fine. The shapes are dramatic and hold their own. I will deal with it as a cloud sculpture. Rather than have a large, bulky evergreen wreath running down the centre of the table, I decided instead to construct a dried floral extravaganza above, so that we could dine beneath. As my ‘cloud’ of flowers is constructed entirely from chicken wire and dried flowers, it isn’t heavy and only needs to be attached to two hooks screwed into the ceiling.”

It is breathtaking. Have a look at Lucy’s Instagram for the most gorgeous natural decorations. Others who do wonderful things with flowers include Bex Partridge of @botanical_tales and Grace Alexander of @graceaexanderflowers.

We can’t talk about festive decorations without talking about wreaths, and I love this idea from stylist Pia Jane Bijkerk in her thoughtful book The Everyday Alchemist’s Festive Season Reimagined:

“I have a wreath I hang on my front door in early December. I made it six years ago when we first moved back to Australia from Europe. Using an old embroidery hoop and botanicals found in my backyard and neighbourhood, I created the wreath by simply looping the branches around the hoop and tying with pieces of string, building up layers of greenery and then finishing with lilac-hued hydrangeas from our garden. It faded so beautifully over the weeks, aligning with my thoughts as I reflected on the passing year. Once the new year began, I took the dried wreath inside and hung it in my kitchen nook, bringing it back out the following year, removing a few pieces of the dried flora and building up new layers over the dried stems still attached. It’s become an ever-evolving wreath which I eagerly recreate each year as part of the journey toward the end of the year, and I’ve since understood it to be one of the gentle end-of-year activities I do that stimulates the openness to reflect on my journey and connect with my surroundings.”

If you want detailed instructions for how to make a wreath, go to the show notes where you’ll find a link to download my free guide to wreath making. The foliage you use will depend on where you live, but popular choices include holly, ivy, laurel, fir, yew, rosemary, sage, bay and eucalyptus. For decorating, try mistletoe, pine cones, seed heads, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks tied together with festive ribbon, crab apples, rosehips, winter jasmine, gypsophila, feathers or anything else you fancy. One of my favourite wreaths that I have made in recent years sported dried hydrangeas and a pheasant’s tail feather. If you live in a city, you might be able to find everything you need at a farmers’ market. If not, you can order online from farms around the country.

If you build your wreath on a moss bed, as recommended above, you can make it last longer by spraying it regularly with water and hanging it outside for a day every few days if it is usually displayed indoors. From time to time, remove any bits that are fading and replace them (unless you find the gradual mellowing attractive).

For some visual inspiration of cosy and festive, take a look at these Instagram accounts:

Narnia Library on Insta

@happy_christmas_time
 @christmas_vintage
 @cosyreads (Maria Kuzniar)
 @kings_villages 
 @christmasmorningmagic
 @the_magic_of_christmas

@oldhouseourhome

@dreaminchristmas

Nature corner

“Nature strips down to her bare bones; trees reveal themselves as the lungs they truly are; gardeners are braced for the full onslaught of wild, wet and windy weather. Time to wrap up warm as darker days and dormancy reign. There is often a brisk breeze and fresh crispness in the air, which can be exhilarating. Hardy birds and other creatures scurry about seeking sustenance from frozen berries, or food scraps put out for them. Life is suspended pending the return of milder weather.”

So says Ark Redwood in his lovely book The Art of Mindful Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Meditation. Ark was head gardener at the Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury until he retired this year after 23 years of service, a garden that I have spent many a day – and night – in, meditating, thinking about my books and writing. Gardens are very special places for such activities, and it’s easy to neglect them over the winter, but there is always something going on.

Seeking out greenery for decorating is a great way to bring out attention back to our gardens, and to local woods and forests. 

This week, if it’s cold enough where you are, why not have some fun making ice decorations. Simply get some picnic plates or shallow containers suitable for freezing, pour water into them, pop in a few nature finds from the garden, like fallen leaves, and them leave them overnight to freeze. The next day, run a metal skewer under hot water to heat it, then carefully poke a hole in each one and hang them from your trees outside. Perhaps string up some solar powered fairly lights and watch them glint and flicker as darkness falls.

WELLBEING CORNER

As winter arrives and we get closer to the dark of the year, our bodies naturally call for rest. This week try an open heart yin yoga pose when you have a quiet moment. It is a wonderful way to get a sense of letting go, and opening up to guidance from the universe, as well as opening up the chest after long hours  hunched over a desk.

Find yourself a prop such as a bolster, rolled-up towel or a blanket, and get ready for a few minutes of bliss. Of course only do what is right for your body. This guidance is from Lisa Hood in her gorgeous little book Moon Yoga:

“Place the prop you have at the base of your spine, and then come to lie the spine over it. You should feel a lift in your chest, and your shoulders will feel open. Arms can be out to the side like a capital T. Make sure that your head is supported, and you feel comfortable. The legs can either be out long or you could bring the soles of the feet together and knees wide. Again, go with what feels best for you.” 

Hold this pose for as long as you like, up to 10 minutes. Go easy as you come out of it.

Writing exercise

The next full moon is the Beaver Moon, on November 27

According to Royal Museums Greenwich, “There is disagreement over the origin of November's beaver moon name. Some say it comes from Native Americans setting beaver traps during this month, while others say the name comes from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams. Another name is the frost moon.”

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-are-names-full-moons-throughout-year

-       Write a the story of a secret encounter beneath the frost moon. You could do this as a short story, as a poem, or perhaps as a letter sent between the people who met beneath the moon.

Christmas traditions

-       Sun 26 Nov Stir Up Sunday (dates back to Victorian times) https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/stir-sunday

This Sunday 26 November is Stir Up Sunday which dates back to Victorian times. Traditionally this is the day the Christmas pudding would be made. Take a look at the link in the show notes for a raft of gorgeous recipes with different takes on the Christmas pudding and Christmas cake, including Golden amaretti Christmas cake, a mandarin-in-the-middle Christmas pudding, a chocolate and cherry Christmas pudding and even a steamed carrot pudding.

Thank you for all those of you who have sent in your own memories of particular traditions that you loved as a child or honour now. Let’s share a few of your favourites:

Nicky Jenner @nickyjenner_hawksdawn Making Christmas decorations with my children, often using seed heads, sticks, sea glass and other bits gathered from the garden and walks on the coast. It’s starting to make me feel festive thinking about it! 🎄❤️

@ellielayt Every year since I was little my stepdad and I have put the light up snowman on the canopy over the door. The first Christmas in my own home I bought a light up reindeer and my stepdad still helps me put this up - I was 25 the first time we put the reindeer up and it meant the world to me! From Durham, England 🥰❄️🦌

@rachael_foy I take my children to go and pick a new decoration for the tree every year. When they grow up and move out I want them to take the decorations with them for their own trees. It's not a tradition that has come from anywhere specific, just one we started when our daughter was born.

@VibeckeHoegAnderson I'm Danish and live in Denmark. One of my favourite Christmas traditions when I was a child was to decorate the Christmas tree with my father. We always did it the 23. of December in the evening, and it was such a cozy and heartwarming feeling to be with my father and transition a tree from nature to a wonderful and magical fairytale with hearts and angels and golden glitter, a lot of traditional homemade things and a lot of light.

@sharony62 My family is in the USA on the West Coast. When I was little we would go up to a mountain tree farm to pick out and cut down a Christmas tree and then decorate it together. Until we all grew up and moved out of the house it was our tradition to have cheese fondue on Christmas Eve.

Kate in Canada @life_is_how_you_bake_it My favourite holiday tradition is going back to my hometown in our little village square to see our tree lighting ceremony. I now bring my husband and our rescue dog to enjoy in my childhood tradition. 

Birgit in Estonia @teravkiis The first public christmas tree in the world was allegedly in Tallinn town Square so we are still very big on making sure you visit the town square to see the tree. We do it every year with friends and family, buy some mulled wine and admire the lights. Children also attach letters to santa on to the tree with their gift wishes. 

Karen @themindfulteacher.co I’m Canadian but have lived in Sweden for the last 20 years. There are so many wonderful Christmas traditions here that I didn’t grow up with but I’ve since added to my own family’s Christmas Traditions repertoire. One of my favourites is the tradition of having a “glöggmys” (a cozy mulled wine evening). We listen to Christmas music, bake saffron buns, decorate gingerbread cookies and drink mulled wine with raisins and almonds in beautiful little crystal mugs. There’s even non alcoholic glögg for the kids 🥰 🇸🇪🍷

@rachelle_barlow (South Wales) My mother & I always do some festive baking together on or close to Stir Up Sunday (the last Sunday before 1st advent Sunday). We usually make dozens of mince pies, we’ve done it for years! My mum has a cookbook that flops open to the recipe page which is now flour covered and well worn! While we bake, we listen to Christmas music and may have a port (or two) while tasting the first batch from the oven ✨ 

Katie Thiselton @kthiselton What: Decorating the tree whilst listening to Christmas Carols. We have always used glass baubles and I have very fond memories of passing the baubles very carefully to my dad whilst he tied them on the tree. Always excited but also slightly nervous in case one got dropped! Our updated version since is that each member of the house choose's one bauble each year (we take trip to Liberty's Christmas store to buy them/see the London lights) then we come home and decorate the tree together. It's really special. Where: Leighton Buzzard, England

Mariella @lellabella71 In Sicily, one of the profound Christmas traditions is the "Presepe," which is a nativity scene or crèche. Families create elaborate and detailed nativity scenes in their homes, often including not only the Holy Family, but also various figurines representing different aspects of Sicilian life and culture. These nativity scenes can be quite large and intricate, sometimes taking up entire rooms. The Presepe is typically displayed from early December and remains a central focus of the holiday season in many Sicilian households all over the world

@mari_brown_virtanen I'm from Finland and grew up in Sweden, so I grew up with Joulu/Jul (Christmas Fin/Sw) traditions. And living in Cad, I have continued those traditions with my family here. All starts with Dec 1st with the Advent calendar, then first Advent, we celebrate Santa Lucia (Dec 13th, celebration of light, we bake saffron bread). We decorate our home with natural things and plants, spruce and lingonberry branches, oranges with cloves, reindeer moss, red toadstools, fresh white hyacinths. We have a big straw goat (this goes back to pagan jule traditions). It's all the scents, the candle lights and music that brings sweet memories, from when I was growing up and with my two daughters.

Craft

In my house we have a tradition I started when the children were very young, which we love – making paper snowflakes. It’s so easy, but just like real snowflakes every one is different and it’s always a delight to see how each one has turned out. You can make huge ones and use as table decorations, or tiny ones to tie onto presents, or string together to dangle vertically – we once made a Winter Wonderland with scores of these dangling on silver string from the ceiling to celebrate my eldest daughter’s winter birthday. 

To make them, simply take a few sheets of white paper the size that you want your snowflakes. If you have rectangular paper, fold one corner up so it meets the opposite side of the paper and you fold an triangle, then cut off the rectangle at the top to leave you with a perfect square. You can use the cut offs to make some smaller snowflakes later.

Take your square and fold it in half lengthways, and in half again, until you have a smaller square, and then fold that in half diagonally so you have a triangle. Either stop there or fold once more, bringing the long side up to meet one of the short sides, making sure that the fold emanates from what will be the centre of the snowflake.

Then either just get your scissors out and cut some shapes out of the folded paper. These can be as simple or as intricate as you like. If you are doing this with small children, you can get them to draw shapes on the paper and you can cut them out. I love making lots of thin cuts and swirly lines, always taking care to make sure that there is enough of a join left at the edges of the paper so the snowflake is strong enough not to fall apart.

Then open it out and be amazed at your beautiful creation! 

Recipe

Today’s recipe is courtesy of Lizzie Kamenetzky whose book Winter Cabin Cooking is a dream. She says “Mountains are a place of magic. From the smallest Cairngorm to the highest Rocky or Himalaya, there is something that draws you in, and up… The pace of mountain life is something that we should all embrace from time to time. We move so fast through our lives, always rushing, never enough time to cook, to eat, to enjoy, but in the mountains, life slows down. You can’t get anywhere fast in the mountains so you might as well relax and let it wash over you. These are places of long, schnapps-filled lunches and relaxed, laid back dinners with friends and family as the snow falls quietly around and time ceases to matter… As the snow falls and covers the trees and cabins, a hush galls over the mountains. I could stand for hours just watching and listening to the snow fall, the way it makes everything so quiet that your ears somehow ring with the absence of sound. Even better is watching the snow from inside a cosy cabin, with a fire crackling and a steaming bowl of hot chocolate to warm you.”

My children adore hot chocolate. It’s such a symbol of winter for us, especially when drunk by the sea on a blustery day, or around the kitchen counter in onesies with festive music on, or watching a Christmas movie. Lizzie’s ‘chocolat chaud’ hot chocolate, which is made with chocolate melted into milk, is one for the grown ups.

For six people you need

-       200g dark/bittersweet chocolate, chopped

-       4 mugs full full fat milk – I haven’t tried it with non-dairy but I bet it tastes delicious with almond or oat milk

-       2 tablespoons caster sugar

-       4 tablespoons rum, kirsch or brandy (optional)

-       200ml double cream

-       1 tablespoon icing sugar

Lizzie says:

-       Put the chocolate in a pan with the milk and the sugar. Heat very gently until the chocolate has dissolved. Add the booze if you like, then pour into six mugs. 

-       Whip the cream with the icing sugar then spoon onto the hot chocolate and serve immediately (to squeals of delight no doubt)

If you are looking for something equally comforting but less sugary, you might like to try the lemon and ginger ice cube recipe I spotted on Instagram @marinawrightwellness for better digestion and gut health. It’s genius.

Marina suggested taking 120g ginger and the juice of 4 or 5 lemons, washing the ginger and chopping it into small pieces to make it easier to blend, and peeling it if it’s not organic. Then you blend the ginger with the freshly squeezed lemon juice, pour it into ice cubes and freeze overnight. Then anytime you want to make tea, just add one or two lemon and ginger ice cubes to a cup and add warm water.

I’m all for simplicity at this time of year. In her beautiful book Advent, Anja Dunk gives a receipt for dried orange slices calling it ‘more of a process than a recipe’ and saying ‘the smell of these orange slices drying in the oven drives me almost wild. These take a while to dry out, so it’s good to set a morning aside for them, and an ideal time to write Christmas cards or wrap presents at the kitchen table, engulfed in their perfume.’ Essentially you just heat the oven to 90 degrees Celcius, 70 degrees fan or 195 degrees farheinheit, and slice 3 oranges or satsumas into 2mm rounds – using a mandoline helps. Then you lay them out on two baking sheets lined with non-stick baking parchment, then back in the oven for 2-4 hours, turning each slice every hour to make sure it dries out evenly.

Anja says they are just as pretty on the tree as they are dangling in a window, and they can be used as cake toppers or as a garnish in a festive cocktail. Anja’s book Advent is one of those where the writing makes you as excited about the festive season as Christmas. This is what she has to say about Advent itself:

“Advent is a magic time. It holds all the sweet, almost unbearable anticipation of Christmas for days on end and it’s such a big part of our life each year that we treat it as a fifth season. It starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and sits snugly in between autumn and the winter solstice (give or take a day or two).

Advent celebrations, of which baking is a vital part, are synonymous with German winter culture. The Christmas cookbooks come down off the shelves around the same time as the thick coats come out of the wardrobes. Each day throughout Advent friends and neighbours visit each other to exchange packets of homemade cookies wrapped up with ribbons. Kaffee und Kuchen takes on a new meaning during this time, when every German household offers up a Bunter Teller – a colourful plate of Advent biscuits, and in the spirit of Advent it isn’t uncommon to leave the house with a new recipe or two tucked into your bag.

The Advent season is steeped in tradition and rituals and, just like the astronomical seasons, much of it is centred around light. The Advent wreath, traditionally a doughnut-shaped circle made of twisted pine branches, sits on our kitchen table and is adorned with four candles. Each candle represents the weekly run up to Christmas and is lit at mealtimes, providing precious light and warmth during the shortening days. 

A slightly less obvious but equally symbolic, and arguably more important, sign of festivities is the oven – constantly aglow in our home during this period, scenting the house with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove and anise as tray upon tray of mouth-watering biscuits bake. It is this smell, of biscuits, candles and pine combined, that is so unique to Advent.”

Oooh this is making me hungry for our festive food episode, coming up in a couple of weeks.

Get ahead tips

-       As we have talked about, if you are going to make your Christmas cake or pudding this year, now is a good time to get going on it so there is plenty of time for it to soak in the brandy. My grandma used to make ours a whole year in advance – the longer, the tastier.

-       Look for present bargains in the Black Friday sales (remembering it’s only a bargain if you were going to buy it anyway). 

-       Make/buy/put up/send any Advent calendars ahead of Dec 1

-       Decide who is coming to visit, and get your invitations out if you haven’t done so already

-       If you want to be super organised for December, you might want to make a week-by-week plan counting back from Christmas itself, and allocate the things you know you're going to need to do to certain weeks or even particular days. And if you're going to do this, why not try to aim to get most of your prep done by December 18th to give you a whole week to enjoy the atmosphere and wind down for Christmas instead of winding up for it. That might seem completely unrealistic, but if you plan ahead with that aim, you'll be amazed - you might spill over the next two or three days after December 18th, but you might end up with some precious space just as the festivities arrive so you can really soak it up and enjoy it rather than be running around. Keep routines also so you don’t lose your windows of quiet.

-       -> Make the most of the time they are at school to take care of yourself, plan secret things, get outside, reflect and plan. Use the time after school to do the things you can do with them around - batch cooking, striving up lights, sorting toys, writing Christmas cards etc (or take yourself to a cafe for that) 

Giveaway

-       FESTIVE GIVEAWAY! This week I am giving away a lovely cosy bundle: A copy of The Hygge Home by Meik Viking along with a personalized, signed copy of my book Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year. You can enter on Instagram @bethkempton. If you are listening to this a while after it was released and the deadline has passed don’t worry, I am doing giveaways every week up until Christmas so go and see what is waiting for you!

Download my Calm Christmas planner from dowhatyouloveforlife.com to map out the weeks ahead and ensure a stress-free, cosy season.

-       Also, this year I am going to be offering my Winter Writing Sanctuary once again. It’s a gorgeous short writing course, which begins just after Christmas in what I call ‘The Hush’ and runs across New Year. Given the ongoing cost of living crisis I am offering this for FREE. If you’d like to join in, go to dowhatyouloveforlife.com to sign up before everything gets busy and you forget! Then you’ll get an email reminder just before class begins in late December. ‘The Hush’ is one of my favourite times of year for writing, and the Winter Writing Sanctuary is always a highlight in the darkest season. Here are a few words from people who have participated in previous sanctuaries with me:

“Inspiring and transformational at the same time as being incredibly comforting and cosy:

“The Winter Writing Sanctuary was like a salve to the soul…:

“IT was like a key to a secret door, behind which were treasures you never imagined existed. I learnt that we all have incredible stuff locked deep inside and that there are ways of tapping into ourselves so the trapped words can come pouring out…”

“A beautifully crafted course focusing on the winter season, but allowing scope for all kinds of thought, feeling and writing style. The group felt like an incredibly safe and friendly environment in which to share writing.”

Come and join us for FREE – it runs from late December for ten days but you can book your spot now at dowhatyouloveforlife.com.

PROMO

And lastly, if you've been reflecting on the year and thinking that you'd like to get more creative next year, nurture a writing practice, make a major life shift to do more of what you love, or perhaps even to write a book, then don't miss our big sale over at dowhatyouloveforlife.com which includes huge savings on all of our online courses. Our courses are frequently described as life changing, and once a year we put them on huge sale up to 50% off.

It's amazing opportunity to invest in yourself your creativity and your future, or to give a friend a gift that they will never forget, a gift that tells them that you believe in them, you see them and you want them to fulfil their dreams. With up to 50% off, don't miss it. Remember, dowhatyouloveforlife.com.

What’s coming up

- Coming up: 

-       Stir Up Sunday on 26th November 

-       The start of advent which means ‘an important arrival’.

-       My Alternative Advent Calendar begins on Instagram @bethkempton this week – every day from December 1 to Christmas Eve you can find a wellbeing tip or self-care activity prompt hidden behind the daily door.

-       Last posting date by International Economy to Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Turkey (Fri 24 Nov) 

-       Last posting date by International Economy to Western Europe (Mon 27 Nov) 

-       Last posting date by HM Forces from the UK to Operational HM Forces (Mon 27 Nov)

-       – get those Christmas presents in the post!

- Next week Episode 5 WHAT SWEETER MUSIC: Wintery words to soothe the soul

Outro

You have been listening to The Calm Christmas Podcast with me, Beth Kempton, produced by Untapped Talent. Don’t forget to subscribe, and please tell your friends.

If you have enjoyed the show, you might just love my book Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy, which is out now from all good booksellers. 

For a peek into my perfectly imperfect Christmas preparations, come and find me on Instagram @bethkempton or on Substack @bethkempton where I also write about midlife, fearless writing, and my favourite ways to travel in Japan.

Stay warm and cosy my friend, and I’ll see you next week.