By Kate Hodges
23rd December 2016
CELEBRATE Good Tradition
The festive season is a time packed with family traditions; from hanging up stockings, finding reindeer-nibbled carrots, to post-dinner walks. This year, we’ve vowed to fit some more in. There’s a lovely list of ideas here, some of which give families a chance to reflect together, some that focus on helping others, and some that add an extra magical layer to the big day. Our favourite pre-Christmas tradition? A tramp in the woods to gather holly and ivy to make our own green decorations (be inspired here).
EVENT Merry Menorahs
Some of the population may be in roast dinner mode, but over at JW3 they’ll have the bouncy castles, doughnuts, latkes out, ready for an afternoon of dancing, music, crafts and fun. The first night of Chanukah falls on the 25th this year, so there’s a huge party to celebrate at London’s biggest Jewish community hub. Find out more about Chanukah here
COOK Warming Cup
Nothing makes us feel more full of hygge than the smell of spicy mulled wine percolating through the house. This non-alcoholic alternative made from apple juice is great for kids and anyone avoiding booze this festive season. Serve in a mug for maximum cosiness. We love eating savoury biscuits with ours, find a great recipe for Walnut Blue Cheese Coins here
EVENT Where’s Father Christmas?
We normally try to avoid screens around Christmas, but if you have young children, it’s worth sitting down for five minutes on Christmas Eve to take a peek at the Google Santa Tracker. The company track the fellow in red and white via a real-time uplink from his personal GPS onboard his sleigh (we’re putting our concerns about privacy issues aside for the evening). Follow the trail here
MAKE Wrap It Up
No matter how much we try to reduce packaging (find some neat ideas for alternative wrapping here), on Christmas Day, we always end up with a small mountain of gift wrap. We have used ours to make hand-made cards and to cover books in the past, but there are some excellent ideas for reusing old paper here. The collage-creating and paper bead-making look a lot of fun, and will fill time in the long stretch between Christmas and New Year!
