A Christmas Carol: Boxing Day

Boxing Day. The detritus from The Big Day is still about (even if you’ve been very particular about clearing up the wrapping paper). The fridge: the leftovers. The paper hats and bits of crackers. The little drifts of new items that don’t yet have homes (particularly if you’ve been staying at someone else’s house). You’re …

A Christmas Carol: Christmas Day

If you are sneaking off from general mayhem…hello. If you are looking for a quiet corner for a few minutes – me too. If you’ve been heralded as champion cook for the day – or (more likely) if people have looked up as you passed them plates of food, maybe smiled, certainly tucked in and …

A Christmas Carol: Christmas Eve

It’s finally here. The day awaited by many. The final countdown for last minute shopping. The final Advent calendar door has been opened. The stocking has been brought out. Operation Christmas is go, go, go! It’s starting to get dark. I remind myself that we have passed the winter solstice – there is a fraction …

A Christmas Carol: Christmas stockings

It’s almost Christmas Eve as I write today’s post. Almost. Almost is close enough to be able to talk about Christmas stockings, isn’t it? === Christmas Past I think the very early days of Christmas stockings were proper long socks. There is a pair of good stout navy socks that my dad had when he was …

A Christmas Carol: Christmas commiserations

Three sleeps to go. For the younger brigade, already in their beds as I write this, really only two. No time at all. Time instead for Christmas commiserations to commence in earnest. You know what these are. They are the moment you meet a fellow traveller on the well-trodden route towards Christmas and they ask …