My Guide to a Stress~Free Christmas

'A Letter to Santa' ~ watercolour on paper

Hello dearest!

Winter has landed early in my little corner of the world; the temperature is barely above zero and there are snow flurries and gusty winds which have left the trees bare and grey.  However I do like this time of year; I like to see the white snowy fields criss-crossed by the dark dry stone walls and a brooding Pennine sky looming above, I like bracing wintery walks followed by drinks of hot chocolate, curled up on the sofa wrapped in homemade hooky blankets and a good film on TV...

...in stark contrast I Do Not Like overheated shops, big queues, hustle and bustle and the rush to get to Christmas.  Nor do I enjoy catching bugs from being in germ ridden, overcrowded places or the stress that can come from Christmas shopping.  I also dislike arguments with family and friends brought on by stress and a car crash of everybodys' mixed expectations of how things should be.

So, I'm going to share some simple secrets on how to get to the big day, serenely, on time, feeling relaxed and in tip top health.  I promise you won't be disappointed - it's so simple and it all works.

'Snowflake Angels' by Carys

Here goes:

1:  The Fend Off Colds and Sore Throat Miracle Remedy (aka: instant Pep Up Tonic)

I make this myself, a lot.  I like to drink this as a soothing, warming herbal tea.  It's wonderful if you're feeling under par, at the onset of a cold, or feeling the razor sharp swallowing that comes with a nasty sore throat.  It's my instant pep up and bacteria fighting winter tea:

You need:  fresh ginger, fresh thyme, fresh organic lemon and a manuka honey (or good antibacterial one, such as Troway Hall's).  A little loose tea leaf infuser is useful too, to hold the herbs and spices (otherwise you can just put everything in a beaker and strain through a sieve into your mug).

Best made fresh, Makes 1 mug: 

Grate or chop a thumb sized, peeled piece of fresh ginger.

Snip up a generous palm full of fresh thyme.  Add both of these to your infuser.

In a mug, add a teaspoon of good honey and a couple of teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Pour boiled water over all the ingredients and leave to steep for 5 -10 minutes.  Drink up and enjoy.

'Snowflakes' ~ Crochet pattern by Attic24

2:  Do Easy Christmas Shopping - or Don't.

There's a couple of really easy ways to avoid the nightmare of Christmas Shopping...those bustling, busy, hot shops full of queues and crying children.

Don't do it.

Solution 1:  The obvious one, shop online.  Do it all online.  The amount of stress you'll save yourself is un-bel-ieeeeeveable.  There's nothing you can't order online these days, so save yourself the hassle and stay home.

Solution 2: Choose Handmade.  In these days of feverish mass consumerism, I'm finding the gentle art of homemade more and more appealing.  Handmade is the way forward and there are oodles of books and magazines to whet your appetite and inspire you.  My favourites are Mollie Makes and Handmade Living.

Hand Embroidered Lavender Pillow gift 'Cornishware Jug & Daisies'

3:  Let go of Expectation.

I'm one of those people who roll with the flow on a lot of things although I do have a perfectionist streak which comes from a Virgo moon bobbing about in my birth chart somewhere, so I do have to battle with that part of me sometimes!

On the whole though I think I'm pretty easy going about how stuff turns out these days.  Take my Christmas tree for example, it's not perfect.  It's covered in a myriad of different rainbow coloured decorations and lights and is ever so slightly tipsy, with the fairy on the top listing drunkenly to one side - but that's ok, we don't mind things like that.  It makes me smile to see it :)

However, Christmas can bring out our inner perfectionist.  We can want the whole day to go a certain way, to look a certain way.  We can want the people we're with to be a certain way and we mentally prepare for it down to the tiniest detail and feel crushingly devastated when something goes 'wrong'.  Some folks prepare for this one day for months.  Can I just say...and I know some of you reading this will already have elaborate table layouts planned and a time table written out - please, for your sanity, just try and release your hold on any expectations you might have about it all.  Let the day come, and let it go.  And in between, relax and enjoy it.  Things will go wrong, things won't always go as planned.  Relaxing our level of expectation will release a whole truck load of stress, which is a good thing - I mean, Christmas is meant to be enjoyed, right?

All decked up!  My daughter chose those funky pink lights!

4:  Congratulate Yourself

Yes.  Do this often.  In the middle of everything you're doing, stop right where you are and hug yourself (I mean it, this releases endorphins like you won't believe).  I also encourage you to say something like 'You're so GREAT!!!!!! You are doing such a WONDERFUL JOB!!!'  This is a good thing to do - it makes you instantly feel better and a little self love goes a long way in helping you be nicer to others.  Don't wait for someone to pat you on the back for your efforts (you can get grizzly waiting for, or expecting a compliment), do it yourself.

5:  Nurture Yourself

Probably obvious, yet as essential as breathing in and out.  Nurture yourself.  Be kind to your body and mind.  Do relaxing things for yourself; go outdoors for walks and breathe in good wintery air, do some gentle exercise like yoga or pilates or take yourself off to Zumba and dance your butt off!  Take deep relaxing baths laced with essential oils to lift the spirits (i heartily recommend grapefruit and eucalyptus for this time of year), drink plenty of water - at least 6 to 8 glasses a day, and sleep.  Switch off your computers at least half an hour before you turn in, and do a bit of reading to gently unwind and prepare your body for rest.

Looking after yourself first isn't a selfish thing to do, you're actually going to be in a better, healthier and more naturally giving place to look after your families when you do this stuff for you.  

All of this works, I swear.  And I know this because I do it myself.

And I hope, in a small way, these little stress busting tricks and treats will help you too.

Sending bunches of mistetoe and a glass of mulled wine your way...

Love Julia x x x

'Mug Hug' - Making Handmade Gifts

I have recently become rather involved in Little Handmade Projects of the gifty variety.  I like handmade.  I love that you can pootle about on the internet and find all manner of inspiration and ideas.  I love that there is such a wealth of good craft books these days, such as this one and this one.  I like finding time to make something special for someone special, someone who I know will appreciate the effort and love that goes into handmade.

I also like the recycling element of it.  Using up scraps of old fabric from tiny toddler dresses and tops that don't fit anymore; finding age old threads and buttons to make pretty things with.  But I also like trips to craft shops to buy the necessary ingredients to make things with too; embroidery floss, pretty textiles, new yarn, unusual buttons...

So, you get the idea that I'm all for handmade making and giving, and with a family birthday looming it was with some excitement that I finally got to make something I'd had my eye on for a while in this book here:

Some of you will be more than familiar with Nikki Trench's book, Cute and Easy Crochet.  I have already started to make that pretty squares blanket, but these little Mug Cosies have been calling me for many moons.

It being Mum's birthday, it seemed like a good idea to make her one of these.  She likes tea, she likes handmade and so I felt I was off to a good start.  What's not to like eh?!!  I'd also seen something in the current edition of Mollie Makes magazine that caught my eye; an advertisement for their next issue featuring this:

Ooooh yes - me likey that!! A little teabag type thingy on the side of the Mug Cosy.  So I thought I would improvise and make my own.  
On looking at the picture and pattern in Nikki's book, I noticed that the cups they had used were straight sided, whereas mine were curved.  I knew I'd have to decrease or add stitches a bit in order for the Mug Cosy to fit nicely, so I ended up making up my own pattern and working from the top down in double crochet and single crochet, with slip stitches in cream to finish.  Would you like to see how it turned out?

I'm really quite happy with it, considering I didn't use the book pattern at all, and it ended up being an Adventure in Crochet as I fumbled my way along and hoped for the best!

To finish off the Mug Cosy (which from this point on I'm calling Mug Hug because it sounds so very warm and huggy which is exactly what it is meant to be and also because it's my own slap-dash pattern and therefore methinks it's ok to re-name it!), I found a little wooden flower button at the very bottom of my button tin!  What luck!  It finished off just nicely!


Next, I found a little piece of creamy muslin and embroidered the message "I 'heart' tea" on it.  I hand sewed the edges and then used daisy stitch to make the teabag string which I just ran up the side of the Mug Hug.


The wool I used for this was one of those bargain buys too - a ball of Sublime cashmerino aran (I used a number 4 hook as opposed to a 5 too, for a tighter finish).  It only cost £1.99 and the cup cost £3.00 from Sainsburys so I reckon that's a bit of a bargain, don't you?!

Anyway, one more bit of hooky news before I go.  You may remember a week or so ago I told you I wanted to give that teeny tiny crochet a crack, the one where you use a really tiny hook, a 1 point something or other and fine crochet thread...well let me tell you I've made a start, I've had a go and boy oh boy do I admire the folks that make ridunculously big scarves using this method.  I have made several circles, it took me forever:

Although I do like them.  Very Much Indeed - and I am thinking that rather than die of overwhelm thinking about making a scarf (thing of dreams at this point in time) I shall perhaps tackle a colourful doily to stand a nice plant on or something.  It's the kind of crochet I've got to be in the mood for, and I've got to have natural daylight to be able to see it well enough as those wee stitches are very tricksy.  So I won't be abandoning my rainbow bliss scarf just yet...oh no, infact I'm hoping that's going to be my next completed project - the chilly weather has prompted me to dig it out and get it finished!


Right - I've a Special Birthday Meal to prepare, so I'm away to the kitchen to be busy!  


See you again soon, thanks for visiting today!


Much love
Julia x x x