COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS

Make preparations for the festive season easier as we countdown to Christmas in Rutland & Stamford. This month we’re eight weeks away, and so we’ve eight ways make life easier...

1. Making Gifts Go Further It’s a wonder that the old adage suggests its better to give than to receive, given the exhausting amount of labour and creative thinking that goes into ensuring everyone in the family has something to unwrap on Christmas morning. If you’ve a large family, with in-laws and step-relatives, consider a gift cooperative. The idea is that everyone purchases a single gift for a single person in the family – spending an agreed equivalent of what you’d spend on the whole family in total on one, more meaningful, present. The result is a more substantial gift and fewer presents to buy. Alternatively, consider charity donations instead of gifts, the adoption of an animals in a rescue centre or challenge yourself to only buy gifts from local, instead of national, retailers.

2. All Wrapped Up Not all Christmas wrapping is as recyclable as we assume. Glitter or foil papers are often rejected by local authorities, and Lincolnshire’s Jane Means has a range of eco-friendly wrapping, and has a range of other suggestions such as using fabric, to get around the environmental impact of making your gifts look really special. We also love the simple, rustic look of brown craft paper combined with dried foliage from the garden. 3. Find Your Festive Tree It’s always better to visit a local Christmas tree farm given that national garden centre chains tend to have their trees in cold storage for days or even weeks. The fresher your tree, the longer it will last without dropping needles. For the ultimate eco-friendly tree, Rudies Roots Nursery at Nettleham (01522 752762, www.rudiesroots.co.uk), allow you to ‘rent’ a tree each year which is delivered potted up with roots. Once Christmas is over, it’s returned and replanted with a 40% discount when you bring it back into your home next year. In between, don’t locate your tree near heat sources, keep it well-watered and it’ll look wonderful throughout the season. >>

>> 4. Decorating the Halls To make decorating your home a cinch, we thoroughly recommend a visit to Gates Garden Centre, Oakham (01664 454309, www.gatesgardencentre.co.uk), whose ranges of Christmas decorations are arranged according to theme – woodland, neon, Victorian etc – making it easier to create a cohesive look for this year’s tree. If you’ve time and flair, DIY decorations will look superb, and it’s worth looking out for local wreathmaking courses given the abundance of material in everyone’s garden suitable for creating a stunning natural looking wreath for your door. It’s also worth creating some gingerbread treats which look great when hung on your tree, and stocking up on lovely scented candles – cinnamon, spices and frankincense – to ensure that decoration is sensory, rather than just visual. The secret, generally, to really good decoration is layering. Whether you’re creating your festive tree, your Christmas table or other areas in your home, mix contrasting sizes of decorative elements, and observe what designers refer to as the 60-30-10 rule; use your key colour for 60% of your scheme, then a complementary colour for 30% of your scheme and finally punctuate with a powerful accent colour for the remaining 10% of your decoration.

5. Entertainment It can’t just be us... despite having many more channels, Christmas television just isn’t as satisfying as when Morecambe & Wise were in their heyday. Given that TV isn’t what it was, consider searching online for some family quizzes with little prizes for the victorious. And of course, a penalty of doing the washing up for the person who couldn’t quite remember how many lords were leaping or how many of Rudolph’s fellow reindeers’ names began with the letter ‘d!’ Dasher... Dancer... Speaking of entertainment, you can fill a dull winter evening by spending a few hours creating your own crackers. Retailers like Hobbycraft have kits, but you’re better off visiting one of the area’s garden centres for DIY cracker kits. You can combine your festive table place names with themed crackers to appeal to each of your guests individually, and you’ll no doubt come up with some much better cracker than the ‘professionals!’

6. Good Tidings If you’re the poor old soul contemplating hosting another festive season for the whole family, you might want to consider dining out. Whilst dining in a restaurant on Christmas Day does command a premium, once you’ve factored in shopping for a turkey which barely fits into your oven, prepping all of that veg, wrapping all of those pigs in blankets and buying a small off-license worth of booze to keep all of your revellers in the festive spirit – and then ensuring there’s a buffet-worth of food for the evening – outsourcing Christmas to your favourite local chef then returning home to a tidy kitchen and a comfy sofa doesn’t seem like bad value! If, on the other hand, you are resigned to hosting Christmas at home, look out for recipes like twice-baked soufflés for your first course and chocolate roulade for dessert, each of which can be prepared a day in advance. Complete your veg prep the day before and make Christmas morning as easy as possible. Finishing touches to your Christmas lunch which, again, can be prepared a day or so in advance include making your own stuffing from local sausage meat and breadcrumbs, and your own ice cream... either of these will turn a good Christmas lunch into a truly great one! 7. Raising a Glass Opt for local drinks from local gin to cordials from Belvoir Farm to ensure you can really raise a glass to the excellent food and drink producers we have in the area. 8. Be Prepared You might want to curate a practical box of bits to make the festive season go a little smoother. Batteries are a must, as is a spare phone charger for when younger members of the family run out of juice to power their phones and tablets. Other essentials? Decent scissors for attacking packaging around gifts, a couple of little screwdrivers for installing batteries into toys, paracetamol, indigestion relief and plasters, spare bin bags for all that wrapping paper and a safety gas lighter for fires, candles and for the gas hob when the ignition gives up – inevitably, just as the sprouts need to go on! n

YOUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS

n Christmas at Belvoir, Belvoir Castle 15th November - 2nd January: Experience the magic of a colourful Regency Christmas at Belvoir Castle this year, with festive displays, an Enchanted Light Trail, Santa’s Grotto, and more. n Christmas Craft and Gift Market at Peterborough Cathedral, 19th - 20th Nov: The Cathedral’s indoor Craft and Gift Market will offer a wonderful selection of handmade crafts and unusual gifts to inspire your Christmas shopping! n Christmas Craft and Gift Market at Peterborough Cathedral, 19th - 20th Nov: The Cathedral’s indoor Craft and Gift n The Angels are Coming at Peterborough Cathedral, 24th - 27th Nov: A spectacular sound and light show on the west front and in the nave of the Peterborough Cathedral, created by the artists of Luxmuralis, suitable for all ages. n The Burghley Christmas Fair Burghley House, 25th - 28th November: Wander among the chalets, heated marquees and Fine Food Market and enjoy a unique Christmas shopping opportunity. Offering everything from luxury gifts, festive treats, artisan food and more.