My 21 days of Christmas: solo Christmassing

There's a strange taboo that lingers in the air around the notion of spending Christmas alone. Rushed offers are extended: You must join us! I'll cook you a roast! It'll be nice to have company on Christmas day! The last is the indicator: we should spend time together because it's Christmas. Not that the people who made these offers weren't people I enjoy spending time with. But a Christmas without my own family was always going to be a bit odd and I wanted to indulge myself and have some "me" time. To most people, the very idea of being alone on Christmas day is a hideous tragedy, but I've test-driven it for you and let me assure you, a lonely Christmas is the new nicking the green triangles out of the tin of Quality Street and wearing your Christmas cracker hats while you watch Doctor Who.

I spent the morning at work, rising before the crack of dawn (if we're going to make this an accurate account). The atmosphere was fairly cheery, all things considered, but soon we were all finished and people were rushing off to see their families and tuck into their turkey dinners. I returned home in soft sunshine and finally looked in my stocking (it was sent, sealed, down from Durham with me the week before Santa was kind to me), before setting out on a walk. It felt like the right thing to do. At home, we always used to take the dog for a long walk in the snow after we'd given our dinner time to settle. Here, there was no snow, nor a dog, but St. Andrew's Park was bright and after following the winding paths around and reading of the parks history, I found myself climbing higher up the paved hills into Montpelier, spending fifteen minutes on a swing set and walking back up a deserted Gloucester Road.

St Andrew's Park

Montpelier

Berkeley Road looking onto Sommerville Road

The Arches

I stayed out far longer than I had planned, returning home in darkness and more than ready for my Christmas dinner - but I still had to cook it from scratch! I swapped roasties for double helpings of roast parsnips and enjoyed the whole thing with a glass of Crabbie's ginger beer and the Outnumbered Christmas special.

Christmas dinner for one

I must have done something right because after that I was too full to move! I managed to peel myself from my chair and into my bedroom, where, after opening my presents, I constructed the perfect den, clambered inside and watched Love Actually with a box of M&S chocolates.

My 21 Days of Christmas: Northern leg

Knowing I would be all tied up in Bristol over the Christmas period, I fled North in the middle of the month to begin the festivities early. I drank soy chai lattes at Flat White Durham, went for rainy walks on cobbled hills, exchanged gifts and gossip and even squeezed in a trip to my old stomping ground, Newcastle.

1. Christmassy market in Durham. 2. Ben unwraps a gift.

3 & 4. Flat White Durham

5. A fleeting return to Newcastle; Northumberland Street.

6 & 7. My Mum's gorgeous dresser, adorned with well wishes.

8. Our little baby tree was looking slightly bare, so we tied gift tags on it once we'd open our presents.

A Very Making Things Club Christmas

Lori and Chris must love Christmas at least as much as I do, because in the weeks leading up to the big day we were treated to a two-part Making Things Club Christmas bonanza! Back in November, we met to make cute little snowmen and wrap up the handmade goodies we had crafted at home for our contemporaries in the Manchester Craft Mafia. I had spent the morning making a plush Christmas pudding from felt, beads and, of course, a little bit of glitter. Chris showed me how to make an adorable snowman and I sent him up to Manchester as a present too.

Felt Christmas pudding in progress

The gifts I sent to Manchester - isn't the snowman's little hat adorable?

Because the gifts were to be sent up to Manchester and opened by the Mafia a few weeks after we'd wrapped them up, I've had to keep these photos under wraps (see what I did there?) until now.

From Bristol with love - the presents we sent to the MCM.

A few weeks later and we reconvened for more festive crafting fun. Cafe Kino was awash with Christmas jumpers and jangling songs. I taught a new friend how to finger knit and felt quite some pride at having done so - I've never taught anything at MTC before, only learnt. We scattered around tables and made Christmas decorations that looked good enough to eat.

Of course, we still had the gift swap to look forward to! An exciting box had winged its way to us all the way from Manchester and was full of handmade goodies, all beautifully wrapped.

Chris with the presents from Manchester Craft Mafia

The Craft Mafia had been so generous that those of us who had contributed more than one present to the swap got an extra present in return! There were so many beautiful gifts, some of them quite inspired. A favourite of mine was the pin cushion ring. What a perfect idea!

Presents and a feast!

I received a gorgeous floral brooch and some re-usable chocolate decorations: four cute and festive drawstring pouches to hang on my tree, each containing a Lindt d'Or. They fit perfectly with the mainly red theme of my trimming and I've even managed not to eat them yet!

Re-usable chocolate decorations.

Of course, they say it's about giving - but receiving feels pretty special too!

Merry Christmas, Manchester!

Christmas Wrapping

That time of year is almost upon us - it's practically clambered into our laps already! For once, I had all my gifts bought and wrapped well in advance. If you don't, it's not too late to make them look a treat under the tree. First, you need Christmas music to keep your spirits in the right place...

Another way to make your wrapping go easily is to have the right materials at hand. If you've got bottles, don't work yourself into a state trying to neatly cover them in tissue paper. I've tried it every year for as long as I can remember and this year I finally admitted defeat. Buy a couple of nice bottle bags - not too garish (unless that's what you like) - and have them at the ready. As for the rest of your presents, buy a roll of paper or get inventive: use brown paper or newspaper and use ribbons, garlands and even pompoms to jazz things up.

I bought some Fair Isle printed tissue paper (Next) and used cute washi tape (Paperchase), stickers and Pritt stick in place of Sellotape. If you're using tissue paper, you'll usually need more than one layer. When using patterned tissues, begin with a layer of a block coloured paper first - I used black and white sheets that I had saved from things people had sent me.

I've always struggled to find gift tags that I actually like and usually prefer to keep them very simple, so I played around with cutting out the initial (or entire name, when it was a short one) of the intended recipient from brown paper and glueing it onto the parcel. I also picked up a pack of gorgeous tags (Next) and enjoyed mix-and-matching patterns on my presents for once.

Small gifts such as jewellery deserve their own beautiful packaging as much as larger items. Gift boxes lined with tissue paper serve well for this. I bought a plain one (super cheap at all craft shops) and drew my sister on the lid (the present was for her). I then made a nest of tissue paper, popped in a few sequins and laid the earrings I'd bought her inside.

A tiny bit of time and effort will make sure your gifts entice loved ones down onto their knees beneath the tree, wondering what it is they'll be unwrapping come Tuesday!

Homecoming: an ode to Durham

It's all very well scavenging for excitement in a new town, but sometimes all the soul really craves is some downtime in your own hometown. At this time of year, there really is no place I'd rather be than amongst my friends and family - it wouldn't be Christmas without loved ones! It's not only the people who I love: pulling into Durham city, high up on the railway bridge, remains one of the best feelings. I arrived on Thursday, when the city was glazed in a sugary frost and bathed in the rosy haze of retreating afternoon.

View of the cathedral from over the river.

I awoke yesterday to a dusting of the snow I've so been yearning for, back in the West country, stirred date syrup into a warm bowl of porridge and spent the day running errands, catching up with friends and sporting a silly grin. I steepled my fingers around a steaming cup of tea at Flat White Durham, leapt over puddles in the shadow of the cathedral and gobbled low GI mince pies baked fresh for me by my wonderful mum.

Low GI mince pie.

The house has been made ready for our premature Christmas day: cards from far-away friends and relatives adorn the dresser along with a string of red, heart-shaped fairy lights. Under the tree nestle the gifts I lovingly wrapped in Fair Isle printed tissue paper and jazzy washi tape. I can barely wait to see look on the faces of my family as they tear through the paper to discover the treasures I have picked out for them!

My beloved Ben snoozing beneath the tree.

It seems I'm not the only one to be having Christmas early this year. A couple of people have told me they plan to do the same: a lady who shared my train was travelling the length of the country to spend a weekend with her family too, and exchanges on Twitter suggest it's not uncommon. If you're having an early celebration, will you do it all over again on the 25th?

With festive cheer,

My Monday: counting down to Christmas

Festive preparations are well underway!

I've never been one to sweep all my Christmas shopping out of the way before December is barely visible on the horizon. I wouldn't say I was last-minute but I'm not the most organised shopper and you'll invariably find me barricaded into a room on Christmas eve, frantically whisking gifts into tissue paper and wondering why bottles of ale never get easier to wrap. This year, however, circumstance has forced me to plan a little further ahead: I've arranged a "fakemas" day and it dances, tantalisingly close, at the end of this week. I return to the bonny Northeast on Thursday and am going to share gifts, cracker jokes and merriment with my family earlier than is traditional.

With this in mind, my Monday has been a frantic rush to finish off the last little bits of present buying. Bristol's generous array of independent shops has made this even more of a delight than usual. There's something much more reassuring about walking into a shop where the vendor knows their trade and product as though it were their own flesh and blood. Asking for recommendations and finding good-quality items to give to loved ones feels so much more meaningful than grabbing a 3 for 2 smellies set from Boots.

With Christmas (and fakemas) fast approaching, I've had to cut back on the few indulgences I like to allow myself and this means missing Patrick Wolf at St. George's tonight, so this evening I am LISTENING to Sundark and Riverlight and moping while I begin my packing. Oh, how I wish I was there! Maybe next time. Still, to cheer me up I have the prospect of a week in Durham and Newcastle- so close I can almost taste the stotties and proper tea - and a thick stack of back issues of Mollie Makes to READ, thanks to Marie at Paris in a Bottle.

This WEEKEND has been a good one: it was Making Things Club last night (more on that later!) and I dressed my tree and got my first batch of Christmas cards posted to friends and family - but I'm itching to get back to the Northeast now! The next couple of days at work won't feel quite real.

I have a feeling next Monday will be a lot more exciting!