Decembers Delights
Yuletide Christmas Show🎄Christmas podcast🎄Books🎄Films🎄Baking
Let the spirit of December ignite your heart, warm your soul and fill your life with joy and laughter - unknown
Hello my friend.
A very warm welcome here today. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you a drink? A cup of hot chocolate, a mulled wine? Or perhaps a drop of baileys?
Seasonal observations
Winter Solstice yesterday marked the turning point in the calendar. From this point on daylight starts to increase a tiny moment each day and darkness begins to retreat.
I don’t know about you but I enjoy the dark nights. This year I’ve learned to appreciate them more and more. Perhaps because I feel more attuned to the seasons than ever before. Dark evenings allow one to retreat, reflect and relax.
I’ve found this time particularly beneficial for my mental wellbeing. I’ve read more books than ever before and I’ve given myself more time for writing and journaling. Most importantly, time to just be still.
Things that made me smile
Rick Wakeman’s Yuletide Christmas Show. A true delight for the senses. A night filled with humour and beautiful seasonal tunes and a bonus track or two from Rick’s Yes era.
’s Early Winter live writing circle. I love Beth’s writing circles. I always feel inspired during and after these. Beth has a wonderful way of encouraging words to spill out onto the page. You can read one of my pieces from the writing circle here.
Calm Christmas podcast. Beth’s podcast is a tonic for the senses. If you crave a moment of calm amidst the hustle and bustle of Christmas then this is all you need to fill that desire. It’s utterly beautiful. You can listen here.
A Morning of Remembrance. One of our annual traditions is to put a wreath on the graves of our passed loved ones (Ant’s brother Phil, his best friend Wayne, and my Nan). We visited our local rural centre Wistow, starting off with a breakfast of pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, and a gingerbread hot chocolate in their café. Essential to keep us warm!
Afterwards we took a walk around the artisan shops at the centre, purchasing a gift or two before heading to Wistow’s garden centre to collect our wreaths. Then we made our way out to the respective graveyards. It’s a beautiful tradition for us as it allows us a moment of connection with each of our loved ones. A moment to remember them.
Books I read
Letters From Father Christmas - J R R Tolkien. What an absolute joy this book has been. Letters from Father Christmas to Tolkien’s children, telling of adventures and tales from the North Pole, with the delightfully mischievous helper, Polar Bear.
The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan. A gorgeous book about saving a little bookshop from closing down. Set in the heart of Edinburgh.
The Post Box at the North Pole - Jaimie Admans. I loved this story, so beautifully written. It makes a non-believer start to believe in the magic of Christmas once more. Such a heart-warming book.
Substacks I loved
Films I have enjoyed
I’m a sucker for a feel good festive film. I have a few DVD’s that I watch religiously every year and there’s good old Netflix of course with their ever present cheesy delights.
Here’s a few I have enjoyed so far this year -
The Polar Express
The Santa Clause
A Christmas Prince/A Christmas Prince - The Royal Wedding
The Holiday
The Claus Family
I always save the classics til nearer Christmas like Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. These are my favourites.
Baking
I enjoy baking at this time of year. I always make a Christmas pudding to share with my family on Christmas day, and I also make Christmas Rolls. What are they you might ask? Well they started life as sausage rolls and then I added haggis to the mix. Over the last couple of years I’ve added stilton and dried cranberries. So, they are now Christmas in a roll. Super delicious!
If you would like to try these here are the portion sizes I use. You can vary it to suit your taste buds of course.
This makes around 70 rolls. (I make for family and friends too).
3 bags of sausage meat, I haggis, 1 pack of stilton, I smallish bag of dried cranberries.
Just mix them all together and use as you would for normal sausage rolls.
In case you missed them, I published the following blogs last month :-
Well, this is my last publication before Christmas Day, so I just want to wish you a Very Happy Christmas 🎄 and I will see you in the next one, just before New Year.
Until next time.
Debbie xx
I love the idea of leaving wreaths for your loved ones - what an incredible tradition. Thomas is also very handsome! Wishing you a fabulous Christmas.