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The spirit of the season
It shouldn’t just be booze, food and prezzies. Pat and Hereward Kaye offer twelve tips, which cut out the ‘material’ in favour of the ‘magical’ Christmas. 1. Countdown to Christmas. Most important. It reinforces and heightens the anticipation. Children love advent calendars, opening a mystery door each morning and counting down the days.
2. Country walks. Look for holly (with berries on) to decorate the house. Similarly, mistletoe, which is a parasite that you can find on many trees in woods, easy to spot with it’s distinctive leaves and white berries.
3. Edible decorations. Bake gingerbread stars, Xmas trees, angels, to hang upon the tree. Let the children help stir the Xmas cake and make a wish. As well as a cake you are making memories. You are giving them a tradition that they will carry forward into their ‘second family’ when they are the adults.
4. Blank videos. Telly’s good at this time of year but get in a stock of blank videos and put someone in charge (a child – adults can’t operate videos). Regard it as an opportunity to stock up on good films and programmes for the coming year, rather than a chance to keep the kids quiet while you attack the Christmas booze in the kitchen.
5. Inventive creations. Get them making things. Presents, decorations, items for the tree. Tinsel is an anti climax! Crepe paper is what you need; crepe paper, pritt stick and a ton of glitter. When we dress the tree with our kids, we have little pipecleaner santas with red crepe paper jackets and cotton wool beards that we ourselves made as children. On the next branch may be cardboard reindeer each painted brown (one with a red shiny nose, of course), the creations of our own children. Having pride of place at the top of the tree is a battered old fairy made by my sister forty years ago, with a dress cut from net curtains and an inch of old tights for wings.
6. Writing to Santa. As well as a letter, get them to put out a carrot for Rudolph and the moose guys, a mince pie and a glass of sherry for Santa and a brush for Santa’s windswept beard. Then they can wake up to a carrot with a bite out of it, a brush with strands of cotton wool in it’s bristles, crumbs of mince pie and an empty glass of sherry! (I know no one in their right mind drinks it these days, but on this occasion, it’s a must. It’s traditional.)
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