Christmas is here!!! I LOVE Christmas. I start planning for December in July, and by the time it rolls around, I am besides myself with excitement. That’s not to say it’s not a stressful time, because it is. It’s one of the busiest times of the year business wise, socially and there is so much admin around making the most of the season, but I adore it.
On the business front, it has been a chaotic month for me and the team. We've been working on some fun festive content like the above! And, fresh off of black Friday, and our inventory move to the US, we’ve been dealing with website issues, stock issues, supplier issues and customs issues, all the lovely things that come with a large operational move. That being said we are super excited about being more readily available to our US customers, and you have been loving having our tights back in stock, so a big thank you!
Outside of a very busy work schedule, I have been all things MERRY!
I kicked off the month with a festive afternoon tea with some of my faves, and family Christmas Carols at St Martins in the Field.
One of my favourite traditions is seeing the Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House and this year did not disappoint. It all felt so magical!
I took my son to a very special story-telling with Father Christmas, and though he knows all about Saint Nicholas, he’s still taken in with the magic of Santa Claus, and he was thrilled to have made the “Good List”. He now keeps promoting or demoting me to the “pretty good list” or the “naughty list” depending on my actions and his mood, so I’m not quite sure he’s quite got the spirit of it.
Me and the team had a lovely Christmas party eating good food and going to a fun Christmas show.
I’m very intentional about creating lovely memories around Christmas and spending as much time as possible with loved ones. I love to embrace the season with enthusiasm, and I think after years of marriage, my husband is also catching the bug.
Christmas time this year has been magic, and now I’m preparing to wind down for the year. I’ll be hosting Christmas Eve and cooking a very traditional Christmas dinner, so the fridge is stocked, and I am eating very many Christmas treats and drinking lots of fun festive mocktails.
I don’t take for granted being surrounded by family, and being warm and having plenty to eat at Christmas. There are many who are not as fortunate, so I hope you’ll join me in remembering them this season, whether via money, donations or service.
I was very fortunate to be invited to a Santa Lucia Carol Concert at St Paul’s Cathedral earlier this month. It is a wonderful Swedish tradition where they celebrate Saint Lucy. It occurs during the darkest time of year, and the message of Lucia is one of light and hope. The Chaplain of the Swedish Church of London, gave an incredible address, and a part of it really stuck with me. I won’t do it justice, but to paraphrase, she said, it was important that in times of darkness, we don’t look away from suffering, especially the suffering of little children. She spoke of the innocence of children and how their suffering is particularly tragic because it’s against the natural order of things. She then reminded us that Lucia is about hope and light and where there is darkness, we should look for hope and light and aim to be the hope and light.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ even amidst the darkness and pain around us, I hope we look for the light and see how we can be that source of light to those who might need it.
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.