Celebrating Yule

Yule slow living tips and a recipe for a cranberry and white chocolate Christmas cake 🎄🍰

Is it just me, or did everyone on Instagram put up their Christmas tree this weekend?! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but time seems to hurtle by even faster the further into the year we get, and somehow I blinked and its December. And I don’t know about you, but I’m finding the dark days, gloomy mornings and early evenings challenging as the days get ever shorter - here in Edinburgh sunset is now around 3.30 p.m. However, with the growing darkness comes the knowledge that in a few short weeks we will reach the shortest day - the Winter Solstice, celebrated as Yule by our Celtic ancestors. Instead of getting swept up in all the festive busyness, I’m taking my cues from folklore by reminding myself to slow down, to pause for a while, and to make time for the things that truly fill my cup at this time of year. I hope you can join me in doing the same.

Simple Decorating

This Christmas I am craving simplicity. With a small human to care for this festive season I’m trying to resist the “first Christmas!” pressure to pursue perfection and make a Santa’s Grotto of our flat. Instead, I’m taking cues from Baby L himself. Every day, he teaches me the simple joy of the smallest things: the texture of a woolly blanket, the first ever taste of banana, the amazement at the shape of a leaf. So I’ve decided to keep things stripped back instead; we will have a real tree with decorations collected over the years and white fairy lights, mostly for L’s benefit, but elsewhere I will only be adding simple touches of greenery, beeswax candles in brass holders and single bells. Greenery aside, all things I already have. And if in doubt, I’ll add a bow. I’ve always loved ribbons and bows and am the proud owner of my childhood ribbon box - so will be adding vintage Rosie touches throughout the flat. It may not be perfect, but it will be perfectly handmade.

Creating with Evergreens and Seedheads

One of my favourite ancient traditions relating to Yule is bringing the outside inside, especially the evergreens venerated by our ancestors - such as mistletoe to symbolise romance and vitality and holly to represent eternal life. This week I had the joy of assisting local florist Marion Blythe-Sandwith of Ochre Botanical Studios to decorate Jess Elliott Dennison’s studio for her Christmas Market this weekend. Marion had sourced greenery from Preston Hall Estate, just outside Edinburgh, and we made a window installation and centrepiece together (alongside the fireplace garland and wreath Marion had already made) with cedar and larch branches decorated with bracken and seedheads such as campions along with ribbons, fringing and bells. I’m now itching to create even more. Decorating with greenery and dried materials offers a poignant reminder of the stoicism to be found in nature and the fresh start the Winter season offers to us in its own way - if we look to the positivity in this time to rest, slow and reflect. Plus gathering your materials is half the fun!

Shopping Small

If you’ve followed me for a while you will know that I’m a keen supporter of small businesses, both online and locally. This last weekend here in Edinburgh we’ve had Jess’ aforementioned market, Katie of Style You Spaces' Christmas pop-up, and Custom Lane’s Trading Post to name just a few. I wonder if you’d like to give a shout out to your own favourite local businesses in the comments, in case anyone is reading who lives nearby and feels inspired to visit? Or maybe they even stock their wares online and you’d love to spread the word! I know I’m preaching to the converted I’m sure, but in the face of the hard sell, Black Friday consumerism of the last few weeks, I think it’s always worth reminding ourselves of the value to our communities of the small businesses that make our high streets up and down the country so unique. I’m also looking to compile a list of independent bookshops and lifestyle stores that stock my book, Slow Seasons, so let me know if there’s a local shop near you that has it and I’ll add them to the list!

Celebrating the Solstice

21st December marks the Winter Solstice, or Yule as the Celts called it: the shortest day or longest night depending on how you look at it. A time to turn inward, to slow, to rest and to revive. The Celts traditionally marked the Solstice with fire and feasting. As the year turns, this is a time that is also associated with letting go; I’m planning to write down one or two things I want to let go of as the year turns and burning them in the stove as part of my Solstice rituals. I’ll also be lighting copious candles, snuggling up with a book by our wood burning stove, and cooking up a seasonal celebration in the kitchen. I hope when the Solstice arrives you can take time for a wee pause to mark this pivotal turning of the year and the coming of the light again. And if you only want to hibernate rather than celebrate, just remember, this time next month the days will be getting ever so slightly longer, not shorter!

Festive Baking and Making

This is my favourite time of year to get baking and making as part of my seasonal celebrations. I had a lot of fun writing the activities for the Yule chapter of Slow Seasons and it is packed with projects. In particular this year I’m excited to make salt dough from the book with Baby L and, as usual, I’ll be making homemade gifts from the festive fudge to chocolate mendiants for friends and family. Do you have any favourite seasonal rituals in the kitchen or craft room?

I thought I’d share a bonus festive recipe so you can join me in the kitchen to celebrate, so here is my recipe for my cranberry and white chocolate bundt cake. It’s just the right balance of sharp and sweet, lifted by a little clementine zest. The crystallised cranberries are surprisingly simple to make but so effective – I’m going to be serving them with everything this festive season! You could also make the cake in a normal tin, baking it for 5 - 10 minutes longer.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Bundt Cake

To make the cake, you will need:

180g butter
90g caster sugar
90g soft brown sugar
180g self-raising flour
3 eggs
75g fresh cranberries
75g white chocolate, chopped
Zest of one clementine
For the topping:
100g caster sugar, plus extra for coating
100g water (this makes more simple syrup than you need, but it will keep in the fridge for a month and is perfect for festive cocktails!)
50g cranberries
50g white chocolate, melted.

Preheat the oven to 160C Fan. Grease the bundt tin generously with butter. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time with a little flour, then fold in the rest of the flour.

Fold in the white chocolate and cranberries and pour the mixture into the bundt tin, levelling the surface. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes (cover if it starts to brown too much).

Meanwhile, make the crystallised cranberries. Make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water. Dip the cranberries in the syrup and leave on greaseproof paper to dry for an hour, then toss in caster sugar until coated. Remove the bundt from the tin, drizzle with white chocolate and decorate with the cranberries. Serve!

If you enjoy my seasonal recipes, to do lists and tips, do consider joining us in my paid subscriber community for more regular posts each week. Together in this wee corner of the Internet we are creating a beautiful community of like-minded old souls who want to slow down, simplify and connect with the seasons. Here’s a flavour of what I’ve been posting over there this last month:

Behind the Scenes of ‘Slow Seasons’: One Year On

Rosie Makes: Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf Cake

Slow Decorating: Bedroom Decorating Plans (Two)

Fabric Pocket Advent Calendar Step by Step

Sow, Grow, Harvest, Rest Book Club: November

I’d be delighted if you joined me in my subscriber community, and if you enjoyed this free newsletter please share it to help me spread the word!

Thanks so much for reading, and see you next month! Xxx

p.s. Slow Seasons is filled with seasonal crafts, recipes, nature notes and celebrations inspired by my Scottish heritage and if you enjoy this newsletter I think you’ll love it! It would make a lovely Christmas present, if I say so myself. In Slow Seasons I follow the progress of the year through each mini season, from Imbolc at the start of the year to Yule at the end and the book is beautifully illustrated by Holly Ovenden throughout. You can read more about it in this post and order ‘Slow Seasons’ here.