For the Avoidance of Stuff
Musings on the delights of December, an alternative Christmas list and yoga classes to keep you sane....
'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things; a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.' - Maya Angelou
I am unashamedly relieved that it is December. As much as I ever try to follow my own advice and lean in to the gravity of November, it is not a month I find easy. Partly it is the rapid descent into the dark- I feel it takes me all month to change gear and there is necessary discomfort in the process of altering. A sort of coming down off a height with all of its vertigo. Or a feeling of being not quite in step until I am. The rhythm of the year alters quickly and yet we can take time to fall in line. Or at least I always do, whichever the side of the divide.
But it is also that once December 1st arrives I no longer have to hold back from Christmas in all its twinkling ritual. I have always been like an overzealous supermarket that given half the chance would have my tree up in October and tinsel up even earlier. And I am still not entirely convinced that fairy lights shouldn’t be a year around, or very least winter around, feature.
I know not everyone feels the same way, but I unreservedly love ( nearly) everything about Christmas. I love the ritual of putting up the tree; the process of selecting them, giving each a twirl and judging - like a dance show- for height and form and symmetry. I like the indecision, the finger on chin pondering as though it were a decision that really matters. I like that for some reason it does.
I love the back at home rummage through the box of decorations, each with its own story, each harbouring memories of time and place over years of collecting. I love that my husband always does the lights and me and the children ( or whichever of them I can still accost to humour me) do all the decorations. I love that I still have to hold myself back from rearranging things if two decorations are attached to the same branch or a favourite isn’t given due prominence.
I love that we always listen to Christmas carols- this year was Elvis on an old record I found in a second hand shop only a couple of weeks ago- but it could be Kings Choir or Christmas reggae or trusty Michael Buble. I love that we wait together for the star at the top and make wishes that probably won’t come true but we make them anyway because that’s what we do.
I love that December 1st also means the start of advent, with its childish delight in opening the little doors of a glittering calendar and that the discovery of a poinsettia or a chorister dressed as an angel is somehow captivating. And that advent candles can be lit, forcing you to take the time to watch that they don’t burn down further than they should. It is, inadvertently, a clever trick to presence.
I love that days and nights for the next few weeks will be filled with gatherings, with the glittering eyes of those we love, and one or many opportunities to sing - all of us and no matter our voices- and so lend our chorus to centuries of song, receiving, in return, that glorious uplift that comes necessarily from singing in communion.
And I love presents. Not so much the buying them as pondering them, trying to work out what a certain someone might want or love or need. And that with enough thought a small present can be rendered very big. And I would be lying through my teeth if I didn’t admit to loving receiving presents too, because I really do. And I keep mine unopened until the last possible moment because I know, childish as I am, that the delight is as much in the paper and the bows and the ritual of unwrapping as it is in what is inside.
The only - and I really think it is only- thing I don’t like, and really dont like, is the thought of the tide of ‘stuff’ that we might be left with in the aftermath. That Christmas might be an exercise in overconsumption is not an inevitability but it can so often happen.
And because I want to stay unashamed in my love affair with it all ( and hope you might too) I have decided this year that I am going to give as many presents as I can that aren’t just ‘stuff’ which risks being either immediately regifted, heaved into landfill or siphoned off to the charity shop - the last of which is admittedly the best of a bad lottery but still somehow feels a pinprick to the weeks of joy that has preceded it all.
So here is a list of ideas I have been gathering, in case you feel the same way.....
In no particular order
A box of flowers from the Scilly Isles. There is practically nothing lovelier than a burst of yellow sunshine inside to light up a December or January day.
Tickets to go backstage at the Royal Opera House. the perfect gift for any ballet or opera buffs in the house. Cheaper than an actual ticket ( which might not go astray either).
A sock subscription. I’m secretly hoping that someone gets this for me because I disproportionately love socks and can only imagine that a little monthly package of them would be such an ongoing treat over the months that follow Christmas.
Tickets to a gig next year. The festivals are announcing their line ups and bands announcing their 2024 tours. Now is the perfect time to leap on tickets. And so that you have something to wrap up, you can give them in a card with the tickets inside, all wrapped up multiple times like a pass the parcel, or as I have got in the habit of doing, with the vinyl version of their latest record.
Just google whatever band you have in mind and check out their tour dates, choose a venue ( near or far, an excuse for a trip to Europe maybe?) and that’s another present box seriously well ticked.
A digital subscription to Chess.com. For any resident chess lovers.
An annual book subscription to the Parisian mecca of books Shakespeare and Company.
Dahlia bulbs from Sarah Raven, bought and ready for delivery in early spring. She also does amazing cutting garden patches which I got one year for a birthday and has been a top five present of all time.
A gift from the Choose Love shop. This can be done as a simple act of kindness or on behalf of someone else. Instead of just donating money to a charity and having no real idea how it might help, this is a way of buying something specific for someone specific who is in dire need.
They have a physical shop in Carnaby Street, London or you can do it online.
Gift from the sea- a gift voucher from a Cornish fishmonger to get a fresh seafood delivery whenever they choose
A substack subscription. There are a plethora of completely amazing writers on Substack and all of their paid subscriptions can be offered as gifts for a month or a year.
Some of my favourite writers at the moment are
or - whisper it- if you love mine then you might want to gift it to a loved one too
https://substack.com/@nicolecroft
11) The deposit for a yoga retreat. Message me to find out about my upcoming retreats to Cornwall and Portugal next year. Portugal bookings will open to paid subs this week, but will be then offered to everyone as of next week. Email me nicolecroft@me.com for a brochure or a gift voucher.
And if it is Sound Healing that you are after then I can not recommend more highly the offerings of my dear friend and incredible healer Resonant Retreats. She does bespoke retreats or special weekends for mother and daughters or best friends. I have her in my line of sight for next year.
12) Something crafty. This would be such a beautiful gift to give someone that would see them through the hibernating of January. I especially love these knitting and crochet kits, and these are the most beautiful embroidery kits and SO beautifully packaged.
13. Bunches or years of flowers. Chippy Flower Farm are offering gift vouchers to give away as presents for anyone who is local to the Oxfordshire area- there are no more beautiful flowers and the summer the treat of a pick your own patch which was such a highlight. They are now also offering courses in their beautifully decorated hut and the gift vouchers can also go towards those.
14. And finally for the art lovers, there is nothing nicer than an annual membership to one of Londons extraordinary art galleries. Beat the queues, take a friend, save on tickets ( or get in for free). The Royal Academy, the Tate and the Hayward Galleries are all wonderful.
CLASSES THIS WEEK ( If you’ve made it this far!!)
Two weeks to go………book via the links below.
Tuesday 5th December 9-10am Zoom Live or as a Recording
https://bookwhen.com/nicolecroftyoga#focus=ev-s9bl-20231205090000
Wednesday 6th December 9.30-10.30am In Person @ Enstone Parish Hall
https://bookwhen.com/nicolecroftyoga#focus=ev-swyv-20231206093000
Happy December Everyone. xx Nicole