A little something about me; I absolutely adore the festive season, it really is the most wonderful time of the year. That feeling of the cold air against your face, the cracking of frozen leaves underfoot, the sound of the wood burner ticking over, the warm, and usually, alcoholic drinks, walking past houses and seeing the glow of Christmas trees and twinkling lights; what’s not to love?
I’ve been thinking about festive period all day because this morning Marks & Spencer released their Christmas advert, which I very excitedly watched! I enjoyed it but I have an inkling it might not be my favourite of the season, but we’ll soon find out (come on John Lewis, we’re all waiting).
Here are a few things that I’m excited about:
- Reading the new Nigel Slater cookbook, The Christmas Chronicles – from the first few pages, I already know this is the most beautifully written Christmas book I’ve ever read. It’s a story book as well as a recipe book and I’m excited about spending time, sat by the fire, getting lost in these magical pages and getting inspiration for winter cooking.
- Making a Christmas wreath. Last year I bought a wreath from Hobbycraft and it looks exactly the same as the day I bought it. This year, I’m definitely making the time to dress it up, get it looking all festive and gorgeous, then proudly displaying it on my front door.
- First snowfall. Now I know every year there is the promise / hope that we’ll have snow, ideally on Christmas Day but anytime before that would be equally as great if you please. However, there have been talks of it being a cold winter (and I’ve seen lots of berries on the trees), so fingers crossed the snow is a-coming!
- Making festive bunting for the first time. I’ve found a brilliant (and what looks like a straight-forward) video on YouTube on how to make it, so fingers crossed it’s as simple as it looks.
- Getting my kitchen installed. Our kitchen is currently flat-packed in the front room, but now that we have our flooring down (thank goodness), we can start assembling the kitchen, which means no more cooking on the camping stove! Oh, to be able to use an oven again will be complete and utter bliss. The first thing I’m going to cook is Nanny’s chicken – I’ll share the recipe with you as soon as I have an oven and can take some pictures.
- The smells of the season. I’m thinking mulled cider & wine, festive candles, long, slow-roasted dishes, full-bodied red wine, burning wood and last but not least, the smell of the Christmas tree.
- Our national bird: the robin. Seeing this beautiful, red-breasted, sweet-singing beauty standing on the spade on a cold, frosty morning is a sight that I cannot wait for.
Writing this has made me feel so very festive – come on jack frost, we’re ready and waiting for you.
A x
Abi in the Garden 