Christmas in Ireland is a massive celebration over the entire month of December. Normally we would be celebrating Friendsmas, a great huge gathering of my husband’s mates from Blackrock College and their spouses in a nice large restaurant spilling over with people. There is also the grand adventure of The 12 Pubs of Christmas, where friends and family take on a pub crawl that is not for the faint of heart, as revelers must complete a set of challenges for each pub. Anyone sick of his family on Christmas Eve can wander down to his local watering hole, always bursting to the door with people. For television entertainment, there is the Ryan Tuberty’s Toy Show on RTÉ showcasing the latest toy trends for kids as well as The Snowman playing on repeat.
This year, however, all of the celebrations and gatherings are cancelled, reduced, or postponed. Apart from the usual Christmas dinner with close family and relatives and the highly curated Christmas movie playlist with a hot chocolate and Baileys, things will be much more subdued this holiday season.
Currently, the only great plan I have is putting up my Christmas decorations, which aren’t your usual fare. They have their own quaint charm of activities, because we make them. I have a tiny cardboard box wrapped in Christmas Paper for my Christmas decoration box, because every year I make my garlands from natural, biodegradable products. In my box I have fairy lights, glass baubles, cinnamon bundles, painted pine cones on sticks, wreath frames, painted curly sticks, ribbon, bows, string, hooks, paper bags, and gift tags.
I started this tradition after an inspiring visit to Hampton Court Palace around Christmas a number of years ago. In the incredible kitchen, food historians recreate the process of preparing Henry VIII’s feasts over a massive fireplace with roasting spits of meat, bubbling cauldrons, and trays of pies. After a wonderful education, there is a convenient exit to the gift shop and cafeteria. The loveliest part, though, is the Elizabethan Christmas recreations in the halls between the kitchen and the gift shop. On the large window sills, the curators place tall white pillar candles in between bundles of fresh boughs and cinnamon sticks, with dried slices of lemons on strips of ribbon hanging from the top trim. It made me realize that I could do a more natural Christmas that was still beautiful without spending a ton of money.
Garlands
One great project is making DIY garlands from compostable and natural material. These are super fun and easy projects, and great for kids, especially the popcorn garlands made by stringing popcorn together with a blunt needle and cotton-based thread. My go-to decoration is binding Christmas tree boughs together to decorate the windows and hand railing. Many tree farms cut away the lower branches and stuck-out boughs and mulch them for compost or disposal. Whenever I have asked for their extras, they have happily given me as much as I could carry away for free since it saved them the hassle of hauling and chipping them. More permanent ones can be made by stringing together horse chestnuts, acorns, wood beads, and cut pieces of used non-recyclable wrapping paper.
Thankful Ornaments
The thankfulness ornament is a great homemade ornament for the holiday season. Using a paper gift tag, ribbon, and hook, every family member writes what he or she is thankful for during the year. Then, over the years, it is lovely to gather them all up, reflect, and count the years of blessings. For a bit more privacy, these can be rolled up into a small scroll and placed inside a clear glass bauble.
Fruit Ornaments
The best thing about fruit ornaments is that they really add a great Christmas scent to the home; this is especially true of pomander balls. This lovely little traditional Christmas craft is such a fun and bright-colored project for a tree or bough garland. Different patterns of clove, cut peel, aniseed, cinnamon sticks, and ribbon make each one completely unique.
Another simple fruit based project is sliced circles of apples, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons; Dry them in a low heat oven and collect them onto string to hang from windows, tree boughs, or garlands. If using the fruit seems wasteful, use the fruit skins instead — they will curl and twist when dried.
Cranberries are also a stunning fruit to use in Christmas decorations. They stay fresh outside of the fridge for a number of weeks if cleaned and dried properly. They can be thrown into a clear tall glass vase with some fresh whole lemons or unshelled nuts to make a stunning centerpiece, and then used later in food dishes. They can also be strung to make a garland.
Pine Cone Ornaments
Pine cones are a lovely natural item that adds a great texture, plain or painted. Simply plucked from a yard and cleaned, they can be gathered up into a decorative bowl with some sprays of branches to make a simple centerpiece. String them together and they make a lovely garland. They can even be painted and glued to a stick and then stuck between the boughs to create a fuller effect. Bundle them together with a ribbon and hang them from a branch to add special charm. A top favorite project of mine is turning them into little gnomes by sticking colorful felted wool hats, tiny yarn beards, and wood bead noses on them.
Paper Packet Ornaments
Just like candy canes, nothing really beats edible ornaments. I like to get nice bits of gingerbread from a local bakery or imported gingerbread from Germany to put into little paper packets and hang on the tree with a loop of ribbon. They can be numbered to create an advent calendar or opened and snacked on through the days of December.
No matter how much or how little you do or spend this holiday season, make sure that every minute aligns with the priorities for your mental, personal, and financial health.
Nollaig Shona Daoibh (Gaelic for Merry Christmas)
