My Christmas Wish List | Sophie Caldecott

Style And Then Some Christmas wish list number three coming up. So it might be a little bit more extravagant than Katie’s, and surprisingly doesn’t contain any baking related goodies like Dee’s cute icing flower cutter, but if Santa had unlimited funds to satisfy my every whim, this is what I’d ask for (I’ve been an awful good girl):

1. There’s something really special about having a ‘scent’ that you put on for special occasions. When I smell Benefit‘s Maybe Baby, I am instantly reminded of my 18th birthday; when I smell Chance by Chanel I am taken back to my first year of university. Last May I went to a beautiful ball in my grandmother’s old 1950s Balenciaga dress, and I happen to love the Balenciaga perfume – perfect!

2. Socks are supposed to be the most boring present of all, but I actually really need some, and so would be happy to unwrap this selection of fun patterned woolies on Christmas morning. (Tights and socks from Topshop.)

3. Helen recently wrote about her gold obsession, and I have to say I love this glamorous purse from Topshop. Even if I didn’t have any money to put in it, I’d feel classy.

4. I’ve loved Alex Monroe for ages, and I think this delicate pea pod pendant is my favourite.

5. They come in an unassuming little brown box, but these chocolates by master chocolatier Paul A Young are the best I have ever tasted. He develops at least one new flavour a day with his teams in Camden Passage (Angel), the Royal Exchange, and Wardour Street (Soho).

6. I’ve never really understood why people describe leather as ‘buttery’, but this beautiful ‘Mela’ bag by Danaqa is so soft I almost find myself crooning the word to describe it. Danaqa’s fair trade bags are only made from by-products of the food industry in Ethiopia by local craftswomen, and come in classic shapes with hand woven lining.

7. I am in love with the heart jumper by Goodone. Simple as.

8. The extremely talented illustrator and graduate of Kingston, Frances Ives, did this gorgeous blooming tube map in which every stop is a leaf or a flower. I want a copy to put on my bedroom wall.

9. I’ve been a die-hard fan of Elle Macpherson’s The Body range of products for a while now, mostly because they smell so good. I was distraught, then, when they stopped stocking her range in Boots. I know Jo Malone is expensive, but I recently discovered this Lime, Basil & Mandarin body creme smells exactly like the Elle Macpherson body moisturiser that I miss so much.

10. I’m rather behind on this, but everyone has raved about One Day so much that I want to read it myself. It’s always nice to have a new book to read on Boxing Day to get you through the food coma.

But of course, if you can’t get me any of these presents, Santa, don’t worry, because:

A guide to the perfect Advent weekend

Advance apologies, I’m going to be shamelessly schmultzy and as oozy about Christmas as a hyper active kid (let the fact that I’m listening to Michael Bublé’s Christmas album on full blast give you fair warning). So this year I’m spending Christmas in America with my boyfriend, and it will be my first Christmas away from my family. I guess it’s only when you know you won’t have something that you really start to appreciate it, but I’ve been getting really into all the Christmas traditions this year – did you know that Americans don’t have Christmas pudding, or crackers? These are staple things that I always took for granted, but apparently they are massively English traditions.

Stir Up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent starts, and this is the day when you’re supposed to make the Christmas pudding. I did it a week late, and I’m sure you could do it a few weeks late; it doesn’t matter, as long as it has a few weeks before Christmas to sit and soak up all that alcohol. I’m going to take my pudding with me to America. I’m just hoping the fumes don’t make the sniffer dogs at the airport go crazy.

To start your weekend of getting into the Christmas spirit: first, decorate a wreath of pine with some pine cones, cinnamon sticks and little stars – you’re supposed to put four candles in the wreath and light one for each of the four Sundays of Advent. Then make some cranberry sauce to put away in jars for Christmas dinner. You can buy packets of fresh cranberries at most supermarkets. Pour a packet into a sauce pan, add 3 tablespoons of water, 120g caster sugar, the juice of one fresh orange, a generous teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and plenty of ginger and then heat very gently on the stove for about half an hour, until all the cranberries have popped and turned jelly-like. (By now, your fantasy about being in a sleigh with Michael Bublé should be well under way.)

When it’s ready and you’ve given it a good stir, let it cool before putting it in jars and storing it away in the fridge for the big feast.

I always assumed making a Christmas pudding would be incredibly difficult, but it’s the perfect Advent weekend activity to get you in the mood of the season, and you’ll appreciate it all the more on Christmas day because you put so much effort into making it. It takes a while, and you need two days to make it because it needs to rest overnight and then spend quite a while steaming the next day, but it’s definitely do-able. I used Delia Smith’s recipe, which you can find here.

I’m naturally a Summer person – I hate the cold, and I feel like the grey skies just drain me of energy – but getting into the spirit of the season really helps dispel the Winter gloom. Try it and see – it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, after all.