Just in case you hadn't noticed, Christmas is coming. And while people love to hate Wham droning at them from the Tesco pasta aisle, and having to choose between Chicken Royale and Vegetable Loaf at the office Christmas party, we are INTO Christmas.
Waiting until 1st December to dig out the Christmas decorations takes Herculean discipline. So until then, instead of doing it, we’re going to talk about it; here’s our low down on how to nail the festive cheer at home.
One - Nature Does it Best
We’re all for a bit of Christmas kitsch (see tip Three) but for the bulk of your decoration, look no further than Mother Nature. Think tendrils of ivy draped over mantle pieces, bundles of cinnamon sticks, mounds of moss and giant dried hydrangea pom-poms. And it goes without saying, no Christmas is complete without the smell of pine (and the annoying little pine needles that get stuck in your tights) that can only come from a real tree.
Two - Let there be Light
But let it be only one kind of (fairy) light: soft, white and with a steady glow. Ideally no blinking, no strobing, no colour. And put them everywhere – down bannisters, along mantle pieces, in glass bowls of fir cones. Now is also the time to use up all the candles you’ve been given throughout the year (you'll probably have a few more by the time Christmas is over anyway). Surround them with mini wreaths of ivy and create nests of them on your coffee table. And remember to light them, even if it is just you watching a box set on Tuesday evening.
Three - Christmas Kitsch
Beyond lights, which we are fairly sure about, there is nothing more joyless than immaculately tasteful matchy-matchy Christmas décor; snow-white and pristine is great on the cover of a magazine, but where’s the fun in that? If you’ve got an urge to have a pink sparkly reindeer on top of your tree, go for it. Ditto poor-quality chocolate figurines which, for the month of December, may be eaten for breakfast.
Four - Homespun Heaven
And because there's never enough to do already at Christmas, we highly recommend making some of your own decorations. It's the perfect answer to the slightly smug, wholesome festive glow that the people in the adverts have. Pour yourself a mulled wine, get Barry White playing the background and try your hand at making a wreath, making paper chains or potato stamping some Christmas cards. Alternatively cheat and decorate some shop bought biscuits to hang on the tree. Et voila – home-spun Kalinko Christmas!
