By Kate Hodges
30th November 2022
DO HAND-MADE LOVELINESS
Thursday is Make a Gift Day; a welcome nudge to create handmade presents. Home-crafted gifts are thrifty, bring joy to those who receive them, and making them together is a wonderful way to spend December evenings.
Why not explore our ideas for home-made gifts? Try creating these cute felt mushroom storage jars or felt mushroom hot water bottle, make soaps from nettles, lavender or chamomile, use oranges and cloves to make spice-scented pomanders, old magazines to make beaded necklaces, . Or find inspiration in a craft book; find our favourites here.
Choosing scents and pouring soy candles is fun for older children, and younger ones might like to lend a hand and make the labels. Alternatively, fill your house with seasonal scents and create gifts by making this stovetop pot pourri. Alternatively, succulents always make welcome gifts. Create your own weird and wonderful cactus pots from old plastic dinosaurs, eggshells, or books.
DO A SIMPLE CHRISTMAS
Christmas should be a time of joy and sparkle, but – this year more than ever – financial worries can take the shine off the festive season. However, a simple December 25th can be even more rewarding than an indulgent splurge. We have some money-saving alternatives for presents and decorations here, while Green Parent writer Amanda Williams’ family have created their own rules for present buying around Solstice; find out more here, or discover why Martin Lewis believes that sometimes the best present is giving nothing at all here.
Find our guide to rekindling the wonder of the season and focusing on presence rather than presents here and author Patsy Collins’ guide to a simpler Christmas here.
EVENT SANDS OF TIME
Put on your top hats, pull on your crinolines and take a trip back in time at Robin Hood’s Bay Victorian Weekend. The picturesque seaside village is decorated in lush, traditional fashion, and the streets are filled with chimney sweeps, smugglers and gentry. Events include a children’s lantern parade, blacksmith demonstrations welly throwing on the beach, guided walks, storytelling and a sheep hunt. Indulge in some cosy winter time by the sea. December 3–4
DO LEAFY FRIENDS
Tree Dressing Day is held on the first weekend in December, and not only celebrates our love for our leafy friends, but also our wider community and cultural history. The act of dressing a tree binds us to it and celebrates the unique role that trees have in our local neighbourhoods – you’ll find customs that involve tying cloth and tributes to branches around the world from Scotland to Japan and India. Why not give thanks to a tree that’s special to you or your community in some way, through (biodegradable) decoration, a hug or a ceremony? Find decoration inspiration here.
This weekend, find events across the country, such as the aspen party at the Weald and Downland Museum, a celebration in Great Yarmouth, or a festival of trees at the Centre for Wildlife Gardening in London.
EVENT FROSTY ESCAPE
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is a brilliant place to duck into at this time of the year – there are always uncrowded spots to explore (the higher up the museum you climb, the fewer people there are) and lots of workshops and performances to enjoy. This weekend you can join a family dance workshop with Zoo: Nation, make reindeer or gingerbread man Christmas decorations or take part in an SEND natural clay workshop. The museum’s annual Christmas tree has been designed by Miss Sohee, reimagined as a spectacular and ghostly white couture gown. Pop-culture-obsessive teens will love Hallyu! The Korean Wave exhibition that showcases the colourful and dynamic cinema, drama, music, fandom and fashion of the area. Discover everything that’s on here.
WHAT WE’RE EATING Moon Bars Healthy snacks made with simple, real food ingredients - check out these amazing moon bars - so good that you just can’t stop going back for more. And maybe a little more, just to even out the edges. Get the recipe here
WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO Not too busy to write: Ali Millar and Penny Wincer are not too busy to write. Except of course, sometimes they’re too busy to write as much as they would like. Join Ali and Penny as they navigate the world of writing, publishing and creativity whilst juggling the demands of motherhood, caring and other paid work, without losing themselves in the process. They discuss the challenges that often get in the way of sitting down to write, interviewing fellow authors and discussing their latest reads. Listen here
