Christmas Creep

... or getting ahead of the game?

No it’s not some weird individual who lurks in dark alleyways, sidling up to unsuspecting shoppers to scare them witless during the Yuletide season. It’s not a malevolent being somewhere between the Grinch and Mr Scrooge who visits little children in the middle of the night, although now I have planted the idea in my head I’m rather taken with it and I’m wondering whether ‘A Christmas Creep’ could have the makings of a short story. I might return to that one.

101 things I should be doing but instead… I blame the red wine!

Despite being coined as early as the 1980s, the term Christmas creep is not something I had even heard of before this year, although I’m very aware of the phenomenon it describes. It is the tendency by merchandisers to start introducing Christmas themed goods and decorations into the shops earlier and earlier each year. When I lived in the USA, the Christmas shopping period was very clearly defined and didn’t really begin in earnest until after Thanksgiving, which is the fourth Thursday in November. I believe that might still be true as in many ways as Thanksgiving is a far bigger holiday for Americans than Christmas, but I don’t know.

In recent years, with the rise in online shopping etc there has also been the phenomenon of Black Friday, started in the USA, which is the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers launch their Christmas spending season with huge discounts and sales. Despite us not having the buffer of Thanksgiving in the UK Black Friday also happens here, encouraging us all to spend and consume more and more each year. But despite this unofficial launch to the Christmas spending season, in supermarkets goods like mince pies and Christmas puddings are appearing earlier and earlier and Mr Kipling reports that the first sale of his ‘exceedingly good’ mince pies was on September 7^th this year. I have my earplugs at the ready for when we start to hear Noddy Holder’s dulcet tones announcing ‘It’s Christmas’ whist I do my weekly shop. Any time before Christmas Eve feels too early for that assault on my ears. (Apologies if you click that link)

Yes, I have eaten my first mince pie of the season and no, it’s not homemade!

But despite this creep, as I have written before I am a fan of the festive season. I hate the over consumption, the consumerism and everything associated with it, but I do like the build-up, the decorations, the twinkling lights, carol singing, the special food and the cosiness of it all. And as anyone who likes to make things and create a ‘homemade’ Christmas knows it is necessary to start planning early because one minute Christmas seems weeks away and then suddenly it’s tomorrow.

A family tradition that I started three years ago is to send handwritten and illustrated letters to my grandchildren, and now that there are six of them this is definitely not something that can be left until the last minute. I wrote about it last year, but I make no apologies for mentioning it again… I wasn’t going to, but hey.

A few years ago I came across the most wonderful magical book called ‘Letters from Father Christmas’ by J. R. R. Tolkien. Every year Tolkien would send a letter to his children that came in a decorated envelope with a special North Pole stamp. Inside, covered with spidery writing (Father Christmas is very old you know) and full of fabulous illustrations were fantastic tales of all the goings on in the North Pole. Stories of how the reindeers escaped and scattered all the presents everywhere, of how Polar Bear who was Father Christmas’s chief assistant fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house and landed on the dining table as well as darker tales of troublesome goblins.

The first Tolkein letter to John, aged 3

It was a tradition he started in 1920 with a short note to his eldest son John when he was only three years old and one he continued until the final letter to his daughter Priscilla in 1943 when she was fourteen. In this last poignant letter Father Christmas says ‘Goodbye’ but hopes to come back when she is grown up and has a house and children of her own. My edition of the book is a special volume brought out to celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the first letter and has a beautiful facsimile of each of the letters and envelopes with all their gorgeous illustrations as well as the transcripts of each letter. I love getting it out to read at this time of year.

‘Well here comes Christmas! That astonishing thing that no ‘commercialism’ can defile – unless we let it’

J.R.R. Tolkein

I had obviously missed the opportunity to start a tradition of sending letters from Father Christmas to my own children but three years ago when my eldest grandson was almost five I couldn’t resist sending him a letter. By last year I sent five letters from Father Christmas and although there are now six grandchildren I think that the youngest at only 11 months old can wait another couple of years before she gets her own letter.  But that is still five letters that I need to write in the next few weeks. I might not carry on the tradition until they are fourteen though. The eldest will be eight next month and he is already highly sceptical that the letters actually come from Father Christmas and rumour has it I’m his prime suspect!

The grandchildren also have handmade advent calendars that they have all had for a few years now. They are patchwork hangings of a Christmas tree with pockets containing felt ornaments that can be hung on buttons on the tree. Of course there is plenty of room in the pockets for chocolates or other treats too. Last year my youngest son, who doesn’t have children of his own, made his own advent calendars for him and his girlfriend that comprised of two bin bags containing chocolates. I know… bin bags! This was too much for his creative mother to bear and in a rash moment I told him I would make him a calendar for this year. Of course I immediately forgot about making such a foolhardy promise, and once we were into January all thoughts of Christmas were long gone not to return for many months. That is until Monday this week when he came to visit and casually mentioned advent calendars. Well bin bags actually but you get the drift. Overcome with guilt I despaired that I would never have time to get one made now.

The tedium of patchwork!

Don’t worry about it says he but it was playing on my mind and by Thursday I was sewing in earnest and reminded how utterly tedious I find piecing together patchwork. But the boring bit is now finished and all I need to do is finish off making twenty four little felt ornaments. Six down… only eighteen to go!

So maybe when it comes to being prepared for the homemade elements of the festive season a little Christmas creep isn’t such a bad thing and starting earlier would be good advice.

Mostly though I’m quite happy to wait until December before my thoughts turn to Christmas although there are a couple of traditions I return to each year in November. The first is reading Nigel Slater’s Christmas Chronicles which is more a celebration of the midwinter season rather than Christmas itself. He writes beautifully not only about food but also about the landscape and the weather, the beautiful light and the wintery scents of pine and wood smoke, conjuring up all that is good about this time of year. Starting on 1^st November he takes us through to the beginning of February with notes, stories and observations studded with plenty of seasonal recipes.

And for the past couple of years I also like to listen to The Calm Christmas Podcast by

Beth Kempton

which starts about now and has timely reminders to slow down, as well as ideas for simple gifts, crafts and decorations interspersed with evocative readings and ideas for getting outside. One of our best days last year was inspired by Beth’s suggestion for a winter picnic. We finished a lovely long walk in the winter sunshine with mince pies and a flask of hot chocolate, sat and eaten on a bench outside.

But for now I will leave you with an extract from Nigel Slater’s entry for 17^th November while I get back to sewing felt ornaments.

“Just as I might eat a wedge of butter-soft panettone with shudderingly bitter coffee on a winter’s morning, or break a marzipan scented slice of stollen after an afternoon spent sweeping up leaves in the garden, I too get a fancy for a tiny triangle of chewy panforte… The chewy disc of nuts and dried figs, honey and spice is best consumed in a room glowing with candlelight and served in a tiny wedge at the foot of a glass of equally glowing vin santo.”

Nigel Slater, The Christmas Chronicles

Do leave a comment to let me know of any traditions you like to keep at this time of year and don’t forget to click on the heart if you have enjoyed reading. Thank you!