a little Christmas shimmer

I'm not for a moment suggesting that shimmer can overcome times of crisis. Because things so oft feel crisis-like of late, non, particularly this year? But for me, shimmer does help. It does. It reminds me to look to the light and to seek ways to give comfort to others.

In light of giving comfort, scoot to the bottom of this post for a way you can give back to women in need this Christmas. And see some pics from our SCBWI ACT Jolabokaflod.

Before I get to the big deck-the-halls-christmas-decor-reveal ...

This year, due to a bananas book production schedule and fatigue and the shunning of sugar and the need to better caretake my health, there'll be no Christmas cake for the first time in probably twenty years or more.

I'm trying not to allow this to hurt too much in the chestal area, as this cake is a true annual homage to my dear Mum. Rather, I'm hoping to flow with change, much like the entire world is doing right now. And as my Mum was vastly ahead of her time in terms of health and food, I know she would approve an absent Christmas cake. And, anyway, traditions are like a moving feast. And we can ever create our own.

I do plan on making gingerbread but I'm going to give Sarah Wilson's recipe a go. She also has a Christmas cake replacement in her Simplicious book, and as it has no dried fruit [insert woe-faced emoji here, howling from the depths of my childhood], it won't need two months to marinate, and I can make it just before Christmas, when I may just be able to conjure up some time. On that note, Sarah has a superb digital Christmas cookbook for those looking to substitute the cell-mutating, cancer-fuelling effects of sugar this festive season.

HAVING SAID THAT, please know I am not a party pooper sugar nazi. A recovering sugar addict (you just have to look at my forehead to see how sugar ravages the skin), I nonetheless totally believe in treats. So I'll be creating a [sugar-packed] pavlova this year, though the cream will have no sweetener because pav is more than sweet enough, and it will be sodden with fruit to add a little helpful, blood-sugar-balancing fibre.

I'll also be indulging in my all-time mega indulgence - panettone. I could literally polish off an entire loaf, teasing its spidery tendrils of buttery, fragrant fluff and lacing them over my tongue. I'm particularly obsessed with Brunetti's creations, and not being anywhere near Melbourne anymore, I'll order one online. And I will go for the fruit-free (ach!). To compensate, I may just drown it in brandy or rum. Like a briochey cocktail. What do you think?

This year, I plan on plattering. My girl is working Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, so we'll do presents on the morning of the 24th and the senior's early bird special dinner on the evening of the 25th. Finding the hugest platters I can muster (seriously tempted to just plonk it all straight on la table), and slathering them with deliciousness is all I'm interested in this year. Antipasto on steroids. We always have to have roast spuds - that's a given. With masses of good fat. And prawns to peel and burst in-mouth with a squitz of lemon. Very Aussie. But I'm hoping to otherwise go nowhere near the oven.

I'll be so happy to avoid festive roast meat for the first time, and am plotting some 'meaty' (read: Haloumi, beets, etc) salads to compensate. My meat-loving Northern Irish husband recently announced he wants to cut back on meat because of an article he recently read about how it's, you know, killing us and killing the planet. After I retreated to the laundry to avoid a verbal eruption - 'really, it took an article? what have I been saying to you for TWENTY YEARS!?' - I returned to the kitchen and said 'sounds great'.

Anyhoo. This year has been crushing in so many ways. Hugely crushing - from a global perspective and from a personal perspective, with work taking centre stage and having an overwhelming effect on my health. I'm not the spring chicken I used to be, and my body pretty much gave out (along with half my mind and two-thirds of my heart, though much of the latter was a global cause). Let me just say, next year WILL be different. Because it has to be. And it's not until your body shuts down that you become smart enough to make that kind of shift. Idiots that we are.

Books helped. There are two I wanted to shout out. These are life-changing books, both. The first is The Body: A Guide for Occupants by my intellectual crush, Bill Bryson. If you can get past the truly horrendous Australia-version cover, inside you will find drool-worthy brain food and insights-a-million that will change you at a cellular level.

The second is Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson. Timely, articulate, hilarious, brilliant - truly brilliant. And be prepared, as it's a bit smack-you-in-the-face, and what I love most about it is that it challenges everything you've ever clung to, in terms of understanding yourself and humanity and the world and where it's going. And thank God for that. Philosophy buffs will particularly swoon.

Okay, enough philosophy! Let's get to the shimmer. Herewith this year's pared-back natural theme. I promise this is pared back. Normally I do the whole house. But this year only living room, lounge room (where the tree sits) and entryway. Oh, it was bliss. It was so easy, AND I purposefully took three days to potter on it, instead of ruining myself ragged on a hot afternoon and entering the festive season in a bereft state.

Enjoy this little peek, with some notes along the way. And wishing you a truly joyful, serene, heartfelt Christmas doing things YOU love, being with those who uplift you and enchant you, and finding always always a moment - to dive into a book.

Much love,

Tx

Our entryway, above, and below - a shot whilst standing in the kitchen looking towards the living room. The lounge room is through the white/glass doors on the right.

Books make for such superb Christmas decorating, don't you know? This one, above, by Yuval Zommer - The Tree That's Meant to Be - is one of my favourite children's Christmas books ever, along with Marguerite's Christmas by India Desjardins and Pascal Blanche. It's truly the most divine book and I hope you can snaffle it for your Christmas stocking.

I made these felt leaf wreaths (below) a few years ago. Easy to do - just make a template from acetate, pop Frosty the Snowman on yet old video player, and get snipping.

This wreath! It was a happy mistake. I found some superb gold rings online and then I stumbled across these jangly (like, SUPER jangly - like Santa's sleigh is soaring overhead) garlands at Home Base (a $2 store) in Queanbeyan. I bought up the rest of the stock and had no idea what I'd do with them. Then suddenly, they found themselves wrapped in a ring. New fave wreath. And look at the way it catches the light.

One of a few plywood scenes (Kmart)...

Some more book bling! This absolutely divine creation from Jess Racklyeft and the good people at Penguin. You can snaffle it here - The First Christmas.

Not very Christmassy but just had to share because I love love LOVE these - almost as much as a book. Monsieur et Madame Têtes Succulentes. From Coles ...

Now this - another wreath I made from one of my online golden ring finds ... I found these hydrangea blooms at Home Base and added some faux leafery - et voilà! Another My Fave Wreath. And if you're wondering, the leafy string is from Provincial Home Living, a couple of years back.

This feather tree is another of my treasures (I know, I have so many). I had it made in the States over a decade ago, and thank goodness I did because you can't buy anything from the States anymore without taking out a mortgage for the postage. I adore, adore this beautiful creation, handmade in Minnesota, from memory. It's not true goose feathers, or course... but ... one day. The star on top is from a $2 shop.

The star garland is Kikki-K, years ago. The blood-red wooden petal wreath is from Provincial Home Living. The cake stand is Donna Hay - a decade ago.

Above is another gold ring that I repurposed after a light globe wreath I made failed to live up to my own expectations (coming up soon in this post). I've hung it from Provincial HL Christmas ribbon and added a divine ornament I bought from Adairs a few years ago.

The ornaments on the feather tree, below, are Kikki-K, again a few years ago.

More book decorating... this is my book with Jess Racklyeft - it's two years old now but can still be found online, or you can order it in. Buy Merry Everything! here. You'll see a decoration I made from an image from the book ... coming later in this post.

This divine candle pyramid, below, is from Dusk (years ago and nothing else anywhere near as nice since). The more colourful plywood village scene, above, with the halo of faux candles over the top, is one of their more recent offerings. I really like it a lot. But I don't love it. But I still had to have it. Come on, Dusk, get your act together.

The ceramic swan with a succulent inside - Big W, from memory. I LOVE this.

The tin house, below, is Provincial HL a few years ago, and I've stuffed it with battery-operated lights. My husband trails around the house at night (if I've gone to bed early to read), aimlessly searching for the switches on all these little light sources. It's one of his banes, just quietly, but when it comes to lights, I don't care.

This plywood musical treasure, below, is from Kmart. It's very much completely beautiful ...

The following tree - one of my favourite Christmas decs. Adairs a few years ago.

Although I'm not in the least bit religious, I call myself 'spiritual' and I still adore the story of the nativity. Here is my homage, below, I found it at Bed Bath and Table years ago. And it's a treasure...

Below, my studio gets a scrap of the festivities - a tree (obsessed with paper honeycomb ornaments; perhaps my '70s childhood? OMG, Provincial Home Living have some superb versions this year, but I resisted). The little wreath at the bottom of the planter (hard to see) is just green tinsel wrapped around a foam ring from Spotlight). It's one of my fave wreaths. The lights are there year round. Just because I can.

The Main Tree in the day ...

... and at night.

I made this paper wreath (below) a hundred years ago. It's held up incredibly well. The paper is thick - probably 300gsm. I store it in a box and it always pops out fresh and plumped. The Santa and reindeer piece is from my book with Jess Racklyeft - Merry Everything! This took pride of place in a book window I did for Harry Hartog bookstore here in Canberra in 2017.

I made this globe wreath (below) but ended up hating it and took it down. I used the gold ring over our dining table instead (photo further back in the post).

I can't remember where I got these deer from - maybe Target a few years back. The white honeycomb trees are from Etsy and the silver tree is from Kmart. I think the globes were from IKEA. I made the pompoms on the silver tree (some years ago now), using white pompoms from Spotlight.

If you've seen my Christmas posts before, you'll know I'm obsessed with German Christmas candle pyramids (below). I dream of buying a vintage version on Etsy one day (maybe in retirement, when I'll call all my markers in) but till now, here is the favourite of my collection. Dusk candle stores put these out quite a few years ago now and I bought several because I never knew if they'd come back again, and thank God I did, because they didn't come back again. And their offerings since have been a bit woeful.

They bring me such joy, these pyramids. We light the candles and the figurines whirl and dance, and the candlelight dazzles in nearby tinsel. I love them so. They look even better if you play Christmas carols at the same time - preferably Bing Crosby.

The view of the tree from outside the window. This is the first time I've put our tree right in front of our window - mainly because our trees have been either too big or too small. I adore seeing this done in other houses, so I went and did it, yes I did.

This is actually a new tree. I haven't bought one in a very long time, and our massive pine we bought in Beijing 15 odd years ago... it's so big, it's just too much. It takes four weeks to decorate. I loved this super natural-looking pine from Target, and adore its colourings. What I love most about it is its 'space' - it's ornament dangle-ability. This is why I love my feather tree. Ornaments can spin. Space is good!

Have you seen those trees they do in the States, where they wrap the tree in lashings of ribbon, like an Egyptian mummy, and then poke it full of sparkling 'picks' and then smother the thing in lights and ornaments until it resembles a bedazzled tampon? Seriously? Just looking at these abominations, my chest goes into seizure and I cannot breathe. Why even have a tree under that atrocious muck? Seriously?

I scavenged up some time to make some Christmas decorations this year. I'm trying to buy less, and I only invested in a few new bits - the Australian plywood Christmas animals (Kmart),  the supersonic snowball fuzzballs (Bed Bath Table) and the large crystal snowflakes (Target). I also succumbed to some Kikki-K wooden acorns (so cute!) and deco-inspired gold danglies (two pics down, next to what is quite possibly my fave ornament ever - a mercury glass acorn).

As for the decorations I made - you'd have seen the hydrangea wreath earlier in this post, and (above) garlands made from New Zealand wool balls. I LOVE these. Obsessed with them, and will make more next year. Below is a wooden bead garland - with all moving parts found on eBay.

I used to use fishing line to make garlands but they prove to be a nightmare tangler. And, believe it or not, fishing line can deteriorate and snap. So, I use Gutermann heavy duty cotton thread, and that does the trick. It's also quite hard to tangle.

This delicate rose gold tree, above, is from Kikki-K a few years ago. The fluttery pine cone, below, is Adairs. And the white ceramic tree is Country Road.

The gold beaded deer and star are from Bed Bath and Table. They're among my faves.

And that's it! Other than red sacks stuffed with joy, of course. And speaking of sacks full of treasure, want to give back a little this Christmas, to women in need? This post from my Instagram ...

It’s In the Bag. Care packs ready to go to Share the Dignity – an organisation supplying much-needed toiletries and sanitary products to homeless women and those living in shelters/fleeing domestic violence.

Sanitary and personal care items should NOT be a luxury for women. Please dig deep and donate as many items as you can. Add some to your next grocery shop. I know it’s not considered ‘necessary’, but be sure to add something special like a luscious lip balm or hair treatment. Package them up in a lovely bag, then drop them off at any Bunnings store. Hurry, you have until 7 DECEMBER to get these treasures in.

See Share the Dignity @sharethedignity on Facebook for more. Thank you, amazing people.

#sharethedignity #itsinthebag #bunnings @bunnings @sharethedignityaustralia

Supermarkets everywhere - why not add signage to your stores encouraging customers to add these items to their trolley?

@woolworths_au @colessupermarkets @aldiaustralia @igaaustralia @shoprights @foodworks_aus

Shaye Wardrop, Grace Bryant, Nicole Godwin, Cate Whittle

And in finishing ...

Have you Jolabokaflodded yet? Our local SCBWI branch took on this luscious Icelandic tradition three years ago, and it's been such a huge hit - the event of our social calendar. If you're not sure what it is - here's more info - but essentially, it's just books and chocolate. I know. Say no more.

We celebrated Jolabokaflod alongside a SCBWI ACT team change-over. Nicole Godwin, ACT Coordinator, wrote a beautiful piece on her team - Shaye Wardrop, Cate Whittle and Grace Bryant - which says it all, really. Read it here. What a superb bunch of creative souls, adding exponentially to our children's book industry in so many ways.

With big shoes to fill, our brilliant new team - Shelly Unwin, Mitch Frost, Krys Saclier, Sarah Wallace and Catherine Meatheringham - are fresh and pumped with creative talent - and we can't wait to see what they do in 2020.

Onward!

the team with me, Catherine Meatheringham, Mitch Frost