The 1st of December the day when advent begins. The first door on the Advent calendar will be opened and the Christmas preparations can legitimately begin. Other than the small matter of running a half marathon on Saturday morning I’m planning to use the rest of this weekend to find my Christmas mojo. This is are the places I shall be seeking inspiration from.
Shopping
The Christmas shopping always feels like a challenge. The busy high street holds less appeal and I find myself trying to shop more locally and support smaller and independent businesses. Just a Card, who I mentioned last week have compiled a very helpful Christmas Gift Guide featuring artists, designers, makers and galleries. You can find it here.
Making
I always like to try and make a few Christmas cards. Pinterest is of course the first place to seek inspiration. I’m quite taken by these origami stars I found this week and am thinking about how I can incorporate them into a bit of Christmas crafting or card making.
Baking
My go to Christmas cookery book is ‘Nigella Christmas‘. I use it every year and there are particular recipes to which I always return. Christmas rocky road, sticky gingerbread, Christmas chutney. All of which never fail to please.
Photographing
Instagram feeds filled with autumnal images of pumpkins and leaves are about to become filled with glitter and baubles and all things sparkly. This year I have really enjoyed creating images to post on instagram or use on my blog. I don’t own a shop but I found this Makelight workshop on photographing Christmas products immensely helpful and I look forward to trying out some of the ideas this weekend.
And finally…..a little Christmas gift to myself may well include this new Christmas book The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. All in the name of organised preparation of course !