"A Doorway into Christmas"
With seven days 'til Christmas, some thoughts on festive traditions this week...
One of my own is actually borrowed from Jeanette Winterson; her Christmas Eve ritual involves listening to Carols at Kings on the radio, while enjoying only pink things - a glass of pink champagne and smoked salmon on black bread. She describes this as a "doorway into Christmas" and a way to create your own moment of time. I highly recommend it.
As we're all in that slightly frantic maelstrom of Christmas preparations, I thought it might be nice to shine a light on other ways people find those moments of quiet christmassy-ness, so I've asked a few friends to share theirs.
Cover photograph by Jonathan Lane Smith for my Christmas interview with If Only If which you can read here.
Liz Linkleter, Founder, Liz Linkleter Events
"For me, the festive season is all about martinis. Since I learnt from Skye McAlpine that you can pre-mix a batch and freeze it in the bottle, ready to pour ice-cold at a moment's notice, I haven't looked back. I'm sure Peter Dorelli would find this sacrilegious but it works for me. A martini in hand definitely feels festive and is my sign to relax and unwind after what has likely been an incredibly hectic few months."
Alexandra Nutting, Aesme Studio
"Every Christmas, I add to the same wreath-base, the dried flowers, vines and seed heads that I've collected throughout the year, so it is now an amalgamation of many happy memories of holidays and seasonal moments. I'll usually add a huge silk taffeta bow because I love how generous-slash-ostentatious that looks! Indoors decorations are simple and uncluttered with fragrant cedar garlands over doorways and above the mantel, log fires and beeswax candles which smell delicious. I'm looking forward to mixing in some Scribble & Daub garlands too to brighten things up!"
Arabella Preston, Founder Votary & Verden
"When I was four, I was an extra in George C Scott’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. It was filmed in my home town, Shrewsbury, and along with some family friends, I got to spend two days decked out in Victorian garb, ringlets, bonnets…the lot! There was fake snow, Christmas carolers and carts of holly galore. I managed to get a moment of solo screen time in the opening scene, and so every Christmas Eve we settle down to watch it with the pause button at the ready! We always think we’ll just watch the first 10 minutes but get sucked in and watch the whole thing. It’s a brilliant, nostalgic film. And now my kids are teenagers they particularly love the hilarious special effect of Marley’s Ghost. At the time it was really quite frightening!"
Eleanor Cording-Booth, A Considered Space
"It's a bit of an odd ritual but a few years ago, my boyfriend and I were ill on Christmas Day and couldn't face doing anything, including getting dressed or even eating, so we decided to treat the 25th as a second Christmas Eve. We just watched festive films on the sofa with a few snacks, then on the 26th we cooked a big Christmas dinner. We realised that by moving Christmas lunch to Boxing Day, we got an 'extra' Christmas Eve (arguably the best and most festive day anyway) and it extends the magic a bit. Now we do it every year, on purpose!"
Sarah Tomczak, Editor, Red Magazine
"One tradition is that many years ago I bought little wooden ‘Christmas Eve’ boxes for my daughters and my niece, with their names painted on top. Each year I fill them with festive pyjamas, books and gold chocolate coins, to be opened (and enjoyed) the night before Christmas. It’s a lovely way to note that the big day is mere hours away and really builds the excitement levels in our house."