A Christmas Carol: decorating the tree

There is a health warning that comes with writing about Christmas trees. I feel I need at least a couple of caveats to say who I am in writing this (and who I’m not): I’m not a Christmas tree decorator: fresh with new ideas and seasonal themes. (I quite like the odd blue tree, now …

A Christmas Carol: secret Santa

There are many phrases used at this time of year that can bring you out in a cold sweat. And I suspect ‘secret Santa’ is pretty high up on the list. For those who have not encountered the phrase, this is the notion of buying something for someone else in a group. A price limit …

A Christmas Carol: Christmas crafting

I have been deliberating about the best way to put this. I could have said ‘making your own decorations’, but that felt rather similar to an earlier post, so I went with crafting instead. Crafting is big business, of course. People will pay good money for hand-crafted this and hand-made that. Which is good, too, …

A Christmas Carol: buying presents

When it comes to Christmas present buying, I seem to have lost my mojo. It wasn’t always so. I don’t want to adopt the Scrooge approach. I read a bit today about Saint Nicholas, and his frequent and anonymous gift giving. That seemed like a good thing. At the same time, I seem to have …

A Christmas Carol: decorations (on repeat)

Christmas decorations. Never mind clouds of angels, it’s the clouds of dust as you bring out the box that remains hidden all year. The art collection that reveals the quality of your handiwork, and the aesthetic instincts of your children. Something like that. It may instead be your annual reminder of the multiple uses for a …