WRAPPING PAPER
“Mum, can you lend me some wrapping paper and gift tags?” is a traditional Christmas morning question, so it’s a good idea to have plenty to spare. If it seems like a waste of £2, why not use up old remnants of wallpaper or newspaper instead. The Financial Times tied up with gold raffia (cheaper than ribbon) looks smart. Parcels can be personalised by using paper printed with digital photos of the recipient. Recycle cards from previous years by cutting out the illustrations and sticking on to fresh card.
DECORATIONS
In our house Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a wreath on the front door, a bunch of mistletoe hung from the hall light, and sprigs of holly and bay stuck precariously behind the picture frames. We also have ivy tendrils twined round the banisters of the staircase, though I have to admit that it’s me rather than the children or grandchildren who like it that way.
Front-door wreath A chain-store wreath can cost £20 or more, but the components can be found in most gardens. If you don’t have a garden, perhaps a friend or neighbour will allow you to raid theirs. Cut flexible stems of willow, dogwood or birch, about 35in (90cm) long, and twist together spirally, like a rope. Using plastic-coated garden wire, fasten the ends together to form a circle. Pick small clusters of berries in the garden and push the stalks between the stems of the wreath: use rose hips, pyracantha and cotoneaster as well as holly, and add small, sparkly baubles. Hang the wreath from the door-knocker with a ribbon bow. If you prefer a green wreath, push in or wire on to the frame leafy sprigs of bay (no prickles, so it’s easier to handle than holly) before garnishing with berries. Bare branches cut from the garden make stylish arrangements, painted red or white or left plain. Stick them in buckets or flower pots of damp sand (line the pots with kitchen foil to stop the sand escaping), and hang with baubles, fir cones or ribbon bows. A large, characterful branch makes a minimalist Christmas tree.
Paper chains They are hardly chic, but who cares? They’re traditional and children love making them. Those old enough to handle scissors and a small stapler safely can do so unsupervised. It’s a great way of using up old gift wrap, wallpaper or old magazines and comics.
Christmas tree stand Part of our Christmas tradition used to involve marital strife caused by trying to make the tree stay upright. Not any more. A sturdy metal stand from a local nursery was one of my best investments.
Ornaments If you need to supplement your collection of baubles, pick leaves in the garden, spray them gold or silver; using a needle, thread cotton through one end to hang them from. Alternatively, make biscuit dough (see the recipe at www.goodgranny.com/patacake.php). Roll and cut out stars, trees, angels and bells (most cookware shops sell Christmas cutters). As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, while they are still soft pierce a hole at the top of each with a skewer. Decorate with coloured icing, silver balls and hundreds and thousands. Thread narrow ribbon or string sprayed gold through the holes and hang them from the tree. If children (or pets) can’t resist stripping the tree of edibles before Christmas Day, use salt dough instead: mix 2 cups of plain flour, one cup of salt, 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup of water and knead till smooth.
Lay the table A pyramid of satsumas with small sprigs of bay leaves tucked between them makes a centerpiece for the table, with a line of oranges each side, and a slender candle stuck into each, and ivy trails and foil ribbon around them. Remove a slice of peel from each orange to stop it rolling, but leave a layer of pith to stop the juice leaking out.
FOOD
Christmas pudding Making the pud in advance allows the flavours to mature. A recipe for a pudding everyone can eat can be found on www.goodgranny.com/patacake.php. It is suet-free for vegetarians, nut-free for those with allergies, lighter and more digestible than the traditional dark, sticky version, and no less delicious. And it is about half the price of a bought pudding with equivalent ingredients.
Mincemeat It’s worth making lots of mincemeat, not just for mince pies, but to give as presents. The only preservative is a good slug of brandy or rum. A fat-free recipe is on www.goodgranny.com/patacake.phb.
Non-alcoholic drinks For those who have to drive or don’t want alcohol, offer home-made lemon or orange barley water. You’ll need 6 large lemons or oranges, 5oz (150g) granulated sugar and 40z (110g) pearl barley. Peel the zest from three oranges or lemons and remove the pith. Place the zest in a large bowl and add the squeezed juice of all the fruit and the sugar. Pour in 2½ pints (1.4 litres) of boiling water, stir well, cover and leave overnight. Meanwhile, place the barley in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain and combine it with the lemon or orange juice. The following day strain through a coarse sieve, then chill. Serve straight or dilute with water.
Jane’s A-Z of Family Life returns next week
Doing it yourself
As the saying goes: families who play together, stay together (or at least don’t kill each other). Cramming a bunch of genetically related but socially distant people into a house for days, with only meals, booze and TV to distract them, can be a recipe for meltdown. The solution is displacement activity. It’s what animals do when caught in situations when they’re not sure whether to fight, flee, feed or mate. They wash themselves or find a tree to scratch, thus displacing their unchannelled anxiety.
For human beings, hobbies offer the perfect displacement, whether it be making paper chains, baking biscuits or group jigsaw-solving. Constructing things together reinforces group ethos and can also remind busy people how fantastic hobbies are.
A Harvard Medical School study of 700 men born around 1929 found that the happiest tended to be those with hobbies. The least happy tended to watch telly a lot. Similarly a Keele University study in occupational medicine found that middle-aged GPs were more likely to be depressed if they didn’t have a hobby.
Getting engrossed in baking and building also fosters the deep sense of engagement known as a “flow” state, where one’s own worries and sense of self seem to dissolve away — very handy in crowded houses. The happiness guru, Dr Martin Seligman says that this sense of involvement is vital for life satisfaction.
JOHN NAISH
