Yule Slow Living Tips
Slow decorating, solstice celebrating and other seasonal rituals for December.
This week marks the start of December, and I don’t know about you but time feels like it is running away at an alarming rate at the moment, going faster and faster as we reach the end of the year. I feel like it should only just be the start of Autumn, and yet suddenly it’s almost December - and time to start getting my head around Christmas! This month’s newsletter is as much a reminder to myself as it is to help anyone else who needs a wee nudge to slow down at this seemingly frantic time of year. Take a moment to take stock: it’s okay if you haven’t bought a single Christmas gift, or thought about your festive menu, or simply don’t know where the year has gone. I’m taking a leaf out of my own book, Slow Seasons, to slow, simplify and capture some of that midwinter magic in the things I make, do and celebrate this month.
Greenery Gathering and Slow Decorating
When the weather is freezing cold, frost nips at your toes and rain threatens to dampen spirits, it can be so tempting to stay indoors, but I never fail to feel better after a wee walk - and if I can combine this with time in nature, and even a spot of foraging, it’s like balm for my soul. Next weekend I plan on slowly starting to gather foliage, twigs, berries and seed heads to begin the process of gradually decorating my home over the next few weeks. Rather than being tempted to rush my walk, it encourages me to engage all my senses in mindful noticing. And rather than the one-and-done decorating bonanza, which I actually find stressful, I’ll add a bit at a time and let things develop organically, spreading the joy a little more. Slow Seasons includes a whole guide to foraging foliage, how to make a greenery garland, festive branch and twig star and I’m looking forward to making these without the pressure of testing the crafts three times to make sure they’re foolproof for the book! I’m also hosting a festive wreath making workshop at Portobello Bookshop - it sold out really quickly, but I look forward to hopefully meeting some of you there!
Celebrating the Solstice
I don’t know about you, but I’m really struggling with the dark days and especially the gloomy mornings as the days get ever shorter - here in Edinburgh it starts getting dark at around 3.30 p.m. However, with the growing darkness comes that knowledge that in a few short weeks we will reach the shortest day - the Winter Solstice, celebrated as Yule by our Celtic ancestors. This was a time of fire and feasting, marking the slow time of darkness before the days start drawing out once again: I’ll be lighting copious candles, snuggling up with a book by our wood burning stove, and cooking up our seasonal celebrations in the kitchen with ingredients from my veg box from local farm The Free Company. I love how it forces me to be creative with whatever they bring! 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 - just think, this time next month the days will be getting longer, not shorter!
Thoughtful Gifting
Here in Edinburgh we are so spoilt by beautiful independent shops and eateries, and I shared a few favourites over on my Instagram yesterday for Small Business Saturday. Thoughtful wee gifts from small independents beat mass produced Black Friday purchases for me - every time. I am really keen not to contribute to more stuff in the world this Christmas so will also be gifting experiences (particularly lovely to gift an experience you can do together with the person you are gifting it to, prioritising a date in the calendar to look forward to) and, of course, making homemade gifts - mainly edible or useful things. There are lots of ideas in Slow Seasons for things to make and gift, from crafts such as hand poured scented candles, hand-decorated candles and salt dough star decorations to edible gifts such as festive spiced fudge and chocolate mendiants. This festive making only ever worries me when the well-meaning “so have you done your Christmas shopping?!” question comes up, as I have to make my gifts later rather than sooner to keep them fresh - but carving out the time to make something thoughtful with love is one of my non-negotiable seasonal rituals and, most importantly, involves the best gift you can give: your time.
Carving out You Time
At this time of year, we can end up giving so much of ourselves that we end up totally frazzled and utterly burnt out before the Big Days of Christmas are even here. Try to prioritise your needs by deciding what you want the festive season to look and feel like, and try to resist the pressure of doing certain things for the sake of tradition - or the Instagram shot. Try to carve out some you time to take stock. This year during the penultimate weekend of term we’re going away for a night, just my husband and I, to stay in a shepherd’s hut and have a lovely meal somewhere special to us before the frantic festive season. We didn’t go on honeymoon (we eloped in September and my book came out in October!) so this is a gift to ourselves and each other to make the most of the season we’re in, take time in nature and away from stress and screens and support a small business we love. I know not everyone is able to take a night away, but even planning an evening at home that takes you out of your everyday for a while can refill your cup: I’m sure you know the things that help you to do this, whether that’s curling up with a good book, crafting, cooking, or yoga - and if you don’t know, can I gently encourage you to take some time for yourself this month to find out?
The In-Between
One of the things I am most looking forward to this year is the slow time between Christmas and New Year, otherwise known as “Betwixtmas”. I am hugely grateful for my book and the book tour, which have both been such wonderful experiences - especially meeting so many of you lovely lot! - but my body is now telling me I need to slow down. Not everyone has the privilege of this time, and I feel very lucky to be off over Christmas after a long term (and thankful to those who are working during the festive season to keep things going). If you do have some time off, I hope you can find time during these quieter Winter days to do what makes you happy: whether that’s curling up with Christmas reads (maybe Slow Seasons?!) embracing a forgotten hobby or doing nothing at all. Enjoy every minute of it when it comes. I wish you a very happy Yule!
A huge thank you to everyone who pre-ordered or bought Slow Seasons and made it a number one best-seller - it is all thanks to you! I’ve had so many lovely messages from people who have put it on their Christmas list or bought it for friends and family, and this make me so happy. It is out in America on 12th December, so just in time for Christmas and ready to pre-order now!
Slow Seasons is filled with seasonal crafts, recipes, nature notes and celebrations inspired by my Scottish heritage. It follows the progress of the year through each mini season, from Imbolc at the start of the year to Yule at the end and is beautifully illustrated by Holly Ovenden throughout. You can read more about it in this post and you can order ‘Slow Seasons’ here.
I’m also sharing monthly snippets behind the scenes of Slow Seasons over in my paid subscriber community! Speaking of which, here’s what I’ve been posting about there this month:
Ooh, a lovely post for a lovely month! I really like your idea of decorating slowly throughout December rather than trying to do it all in one hectic day! Will be trying that this year 🎄
I’m trying a couple of new ideas for upcycling for some gifts. I inherited a box of old and not so old maps of the country. I plan to use them to make covers for notebooks and also try making some origami Christmas trees from them. Fitting this in might be a wee challenge as the diary is silting up.