Notes from my desk this month: Holiday edition

T’was the week before Christmas but if you're anything like me it doesn't feel nearly long enough. There are a few more presents to buy (let alone wrap), bucket list baking you'll probably never get round to and you're pretty much running solely on cocktail sausages and champagne while trying to avoid multiple plagues.

Regardless, the week before Christmas is one of the best of the year (the build up is better than the big day if you ask me). Sequins and rhinestones to see out the year, loungewear sets for that no man’s week between Christmas and New year, the best Christmas movies for a dose of nostalgia and charm and dealing with loneliness and feeling down at this time of year.... basically just a big dose of TLC for all, because if that isn't what this time of year is about, I don't know what is.

Last minute gifts

Unexpected house guests or that awkward they’ve got you something and now you need to pretend you left your present at home…we all need last minute present ideas. I love a bottle of something with an extra. A bottle of champagne with some vintage coupe glasses or bottle of gin/something non-alcoholic like Four Pillars Bandwagon with some glass straws or stripy glass tumblers. A lovely ceramic mug or cups and saucer with some great coffee or hot chocolate. A good tin of olive oil always goes down well, or good pots of mustard or quality apple cider vinegar for discerning cooks. A silk eye mask is one of those little luxuries that is always welcome and works for just about anyone. Lovely hand wash (Aesop never fails for me), a pair of linen napkins or a good book are also failsafes (cookbook for the budding and established foodies/a booker prize nominee for the avid reader). I know candles get a bad rap but personally, I can’t get enough of them and feel like they are a really lovely present, especially if your recipient has just moved house or loves to cosy down (don’t we all). P.S my side hustle business, Lady Margaret with hand painted candles has now sold out Christmas candles and won’t be taking orders again until next year.

Christmas Movies

One of the things that makes a Christmas movie worth watching for me is the nostalgia of all the fictional homes that so often feature in them. I mean, can you beat the all-over red and green tartan splendour of the McCallister’s house in Home Alone or the beautifully cosy, homespun abode in Little Women? Of course the cottage in The Holiday is much-loved but it’s actually Jude Law’s mill house with it’s paper chains and homemade paper snowflakes that really charms me.

Party wear

I love the thought of a special outfit for Christmas Day and can’t go past a sequin for NYE. H&M and Zara have some great options in stores at the moment. But don’t forget about renting an option. A whole world of beautiful designers and brands suddenly opens up when you start exploring the likes of Glam Corner.

Bath Time

I take bathing seriously at this time of year. Got COVID? Have a bath. Knackered and not sure you can face another party? Have a bath. Stressed and depleted? Have a bath…. I really feel like there isn’t much a perfectly concocted bath can solve. My ultimate combo is Epsom salts, Susanne Kauffmann Rosemary Bath Oil and Eve Lom’s Rescue Mask.

One last thing

If you stock up on one thing this Christmas make it ribbons. They look so pretty tied onto the tree (especially handy this year for me with a new puppy and I’m terrified that it will eat all my precious baubles), make the most boring brown paper wrapped presents suddenly feel super chic and I love them tied around napkins at the dinner table instead of napkin rings. They somehow make the simplest things festive, and the best bit is you can keep them and reuse them year after year.