Adventures In Swapping (No, Not That Kind Of Swapping)

I love taking part in gift swaps: the challenge of picking gifts for someone I only know online, the thrill when I find something perfect, and - of course - the excitement when my own parcel arrives.

This Christmas I did three swaps: Char's Blogger Secret Santa, and my own Thrifty Gift Swap, which I ended up doing twice due to a late sign-up. And I have to say, this year's swappers really knew their stuff because I was thrilled with everything I received.

Donna's was the first swap parcel I opened, on the Saturday before Christmas, and I was blown away with how thoughtful and how very 'me' her choices were. I mean, look at that little collection: a vintage bicycle notebook with pencil, a collar necklace, a cute cross-stitch, and very best of all, a typewriter brooch that perfectly matches my blog logo (also included in the parcel was a packet of sweets from Donna's recent trip to Poland and a tin of loose-leaf tea, but I've long since scoffed the sweets and drunk the tea).

I was super chuffed that someone who'd only 'met' me online was so spot-on with their choices, as I don't think even Thomas could have picked a better selection of presents.

I saved my Blogger Secret Santa gifts to open on Christmas Day, although it wasn't so secret in the end. By funny coincidence, I had sent to Emma in last year's BSS swap and as soon as I saw the return address on my parcel, I knew it must have come from her.

Emma had obviously done her research as my gifts were perfect. An amazing glitzy statement necklace, a lovely Paperchase writing set, polka dot gel pens, a yummy smelling Christmas candle, and my favourite treat - sweets - were teamed with a very cute goat Beanie Baby (who my niece quickly took possession of and hence doesn't feature here!)

My final swap parcel was sent to me by Jennifer, and contained a cotton tote bag (I love totes!), a beautiful (I think vintage?) glass jewellery tray, a tiny Christmas tree ornament and a handmade needle case. Unfortunately, I managed to leave the box of gifts up at my mum's, so wasn't able to photograph them, but they were all spot on too.

Despite being so busy in the run-up to Christmas, I'm so glad I decided to take part in (and indeed run) swaps. If you took part in a gift swap this Christmas, did you enjoy it?

My Favourite Festive Reads

It's no great surprise that I love a festive read. After all, they combine my two great passions: books and Christmas. However, a book being Christmas-themed is no guarantee I'll like it; I recently tried one of Jenny Colgan's Rosie Hopkins books and it was the biggest pile of bollocks I've ever read. These books, though, are guaranteed to be good reads and festive as all get-out.

Let It Snow is a collection of three novellas by three YA authors, each one related to the other by location. It's romantic and funny and extremely festive without laying it on too thick.

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.” When Lily - egged on by her brother and his boyfriend - leaves a red notebook on the shelves of a Manhattan bookstore, it's picked up by cynical Dash, and they begin a correspondence that takes them on an adventure around a festive New York. You'd have to be as hard-hearted as The Grinch to dislike Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares.

I'm actually saving Matt Haig's new book, A Boy Called Christmas, for Christmas Eve, but it comes garlanded with amazing reviews so I have high hopes.

Moving away from children's and YA literature, Comfort & Joy follows main character Clara across three years worth of Christmas Days. Witty and, yes, comforting and joyous, I re-read this almost every Christmas.

My True Love Gave To Me is a lovely collection of YA short stories which, appealingly, doesn't limit itself to just Christmas but has stories for those who celebrate Hannukah or Solstice as well as New Year's Eve. It's also sumptuously designed: I have the fabulous pink-edged hardback but the paperback cover is lovely, too.

Landline isn't explicitly a Christmas novel, but taking place in December and having a somewhat It's A Wonderful Life-ness about its plot qualifies it as a festive read for me.

Finally, a number of novels are sort of accidentally festive: the final sections of two of my favourite YA novels, To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and Rainbow Rowell's Carry On, both take place over the festive season, and I always associate Bridget Jones's Diary with Christmas, as it both opens and closes in December.

Gift Wrapping On A Budget

I've never been a huge fan of glitzy Christmas wrapping paper, preferring to instead use the more environmentally friendly brown parcel wrap (did you know that shiny, foil-effect and laminated wrapping paper can't be recycled?). And the recent fashion for low-key Scandinavian-style Christmas decorations means my habit of using brown paper is bang on trend.

You can get brown paper pretty easily on the high street and I usually pick mine up from the Post Office, where I found a 10 meter roll for £2. I then picked up a somewhat tatty and unloved music score for 99p in Oxfam and this, combined with a couple of brown paper bags (saved from shopping trips over the year) gave me more than enough to wrap all my gifts.

The joy of plain brown paper is the myriad ways you can jazz it up with ribbons and trimmings, and this is where my magpie-like tendencies come in handy: I've been collecting bits and pieces all year for my Christmas parcels. This is your chance to get creative: in past years I've used candy canes, pine cones, and small baubles to decorate my parcels (although not all at once. Even for Christmas-mad me that would be overkill).

This year, I went for a combination of trimmings: lace on some, ribbon on others, together with clay decorations. The length of lace is actually a collar sent to me by Kezzie in a swap. Sadly it was too short for me, but it looks amazing decorating my sister-in-law's gift and, as she's far more slender than I, it will hopefully fit her.  In a local haberdashery I found grey gingham and heart print ribbon for 50p a meter. The black & white striped butcher's string was £1 from Tiger and the white clay decorations were left over from my homemade Christmas cards last year.

Finally, my gift tags were made from brown luggage labels (they're much cheaper from eBay than from places like Paperchase), which I then either covered in sheet music or decorated with a Merry Christmas ink stamp.

In total, I spent £4.99 on my wrapping supplies this year, but with way over half the roll of paper, almost the whole book of music and most of the string left, I reckon the wrapping costs for my ten gifts comes in at around £2. And, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think they look a million dollars.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Thanks to working two jobs, I haven't had the time this year to make my usual evergreen wreath, nor to go and forage for holly, ivy and other greenery with which to decorate the house. So I was thrilled when Blossoming Gifts got in touch to offer me something from their Christmas range to review. Finally, some festive foliage for my home!

I'd never really thought of using flowers as Christmas decoration; evergreens, yes, but not flowers. But having seen how lovely the Festive Rose & Freesia bouquet looks, I'm a convert. The bouquet is a stunning mix of red roses, scented white freesia, berries and greenery, and it's brought a fantastically festive feel to my kitchen, where it complements my handmade blackboard sign. In fact, I liked this bouquet so much that I've already ordered two more as gifts.

Even better, Blossoming Gifts are offering 33% off any bouquet from the Christmas or main ranges* using the code BGIFT33, and they will deliver before Christmas for all orders placed on or before the 23rd December

* Discount not available on the Flowers by Post range.

Disclosure: I was sent a bouquet from Blossoming Gifts in exchange for an honest review but all opinions are my own.

A Festive Miscellany

Lacking the time to put together any new Christmas-themed posts, I thought that instead I'd round-up a few from past years.

I adore the festive season with a love that endures despite the commercialisation, the endless sound of Noddy Holder screaming, "It's Christmas", the crowded and frantic supermarket aisles, and that creepy Elf On A Shelf popping up on my Instagram feed. To combat all of that, over the past few years I've tried to concentrate my energies into homemade decorations and gifts, a few of which feature here, as well as low-key traditions that are meaningful to me and my loved ones.

Last November I wrote about how to have a conscious Christmas: "When I talk about a 'conscious Christmas', I mean one which is conscious of social justice and the environment, conscious of the things that matter in our lives - family, friends, simple living - rather than getting into debt," and there's also a how-to about making your own evergreen wreath.

In December of 2014, I shared some simple festive home updates: from embroidery to utilising Christmas carol sheet music. As I said in the post, "If there's a flat surface, I will cover it with fairy lights and greenery. Stand still for too long in December and I might just hang a bauble on you."

Looking for some quick Christmas makes? Teacup candles are a doddle to make and look fantastic. Or for an edible treat, spiced gingerbread cookies are just the thing (and they're vegan, too).

Finally, it might be a bit late in the season (honestly, how is it already a week into December?), but in 2012 I shared my tips for getting organised at Christmas.

Life Lately

Life lately has been busy. I'm almost at the end of the longest school term of the year, during which I've also been working 15 hours a week in my new job at The Willoughby Book Club on top of my usual teaching, planning and marking. And, of course, it's a hectic time of year anyway. So yeah, busy...

I'm feeling pretty festive, especially as we bedecked the house and put our tree up this weekend. But as well as festive, I'm also feeling exhausted and worn out and not a little grumpy. Poor Thomas, who bears the brunt of my irritability and mood swings, has found me crying from tiredness on more than one occasion.

I keep telling myself it's not for much longer, but that in itself is terrifying. It feels completely bizarre that two weeks from now, I won't be a teacher anymore. Over a decade of my life has been spent at this school and leaving is going to be extremely emotional. I finally told my classes this morning and it was awful: they were devastated and although in one sense it's nice to feel needed, I also felt so guilty about abandoning them.

And then there's the money issue... I've been starting to panic about the financial implications of my decision and am spending a lot of time faffing with spreadsheets and redoing our budget, trying to figure out just how skint we're going to be come the new year. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm stressed at the moment!

But before this becomes one long whinge, let me tell you about the good stuff.

Thomas and I have been making a real effort to have a date at least once a week: from Christmas markets, to mulled cider in our favorite pub, to chilling out together with pizza and Home Alone, it's something that's been keeping me sane.

And one really exciting element of my new job is that I'm now managing the Social Media for Willoughby. Yep, I literally get paid to look at books and mess about on Instagram: how perfect?! I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge of developing that side of the business and it makes for some nice variation in my day. I can't wait to be working there almost-full time, instead of fitting in the hours where I can.

And, as befits the darker nights and my utter inability to get up off my sofa, I've been spending a lot of time hunkered under blankets reading. I devoured the new Rainbow Rowell book last week (highly recommended, even for those - me included - who hated the Simon Snow sections of Fangirl) and have just started Yuki Chan In Bronte Country, which has one of the most beautiful cover designs I've ever seen.

So that's my life lately. What have you been up to recently?

Gift Ideas For The Book Lover In Your Life

What do you mean, it's too early to start thinking about Christmas shopping? I've been picking up bits since January, keeping my gift spreadsheet updated all the while. But I'll accept that not everyone is as organised/weird/anal as me and you might only just be starting to think about gift buying.

Now, I'm not one for beauty gift sets, luxurious make-up palettes or sparkly jewellery. What I really want at Christmas is things that remind me of my greatest passion in life: reading. And if you, too, have a book lover for whom you need to buy a present, how about one of these ideas?

Clockwise from top left:

1. It breaks my heart that a similarly minimalist poster isn't available for Austen's far superior novel, Persuasion, but this Pride & Prejudice print from Etsy will still look lovely gracing the wall.

2. The Literary Gift Company is the obvious starting point when buying for a book lover and this cushion with a quote from Borges, on the topic of libraries, would be perfect to adorn any literary home.

3. Happen to know an opinionated, height-challenged lover of Shakespeare (*cough* me! *cough*)? Then this book page print from Etsy will be just the ticket.

4. I know I'm not the only book lover with a borderline fetish for list-making. Featuring beautifully illutstrated pages inviting the owner to list everything from their favourite dystopias to their favourite childhood reads, this Literary Listography would be the perfect gift for anyone with a librarian-like desire for order in their reading life.

5. Obviously I'm slightly biased here (I do work for them, after all), but I think the Willoughby Book Company provide the perfect solution for the readers in your life. We offer a range of bespoke subscriptions, starting at £29.99 for a 3 month package, and your giftee will then receive a carefully chosen (by me!), beautifully wrapped book at the start of every month. We're also offering 15% off everything in the run up to Christmas - just enter the code WBC15 at checkout.

6. I'm a little obsessed with badges and brooches at the moment, and Etsy is a treasure trove of book-related pins to choose from. My very favourite might be this Drink Tea & Read Books wooden brooch, with the literary owl a close second.

The Thrifty Christmas Gift Swap Is Back!

Original image source here

Last Christmas was the third year that I ran the Thrifty Christmas Gift Swap, and it was great to have lots of participants making, buying and thrifting cool gifts for each other.

Despite my hectic work schedule between now and Christmas I'd love to run it again, and only need a handful of participants to make it work. Crucially, you do not need to be a blogger to take part: last year was about a 50/50 split between bloggers and non-bloggers. So, if you're interested, have a gander at the rules below and then contact me on the email address below to sign up.  (And if you're a blogger or on Twitter, feel free to reblog or retweet this post to spread the word!)

The Rules
1. Send your name, address, blog address (if you have one) to jbistheinitial@gmail.com by November 8th.
2. Include in your email as much detail about your likes and dislikes as possible, so your giver has a starting point.
3. Wait to receive the details of your swapee (to be sent out by November 10th).
4. Put together a box of bought, thrifted or handmade goodies that you think your recipient will love.  In previous years, gifts ranged from framed animation strips from the giftees favourite film, to Christmas mix CDs, to handmade brooches, to secondhand books. As a general rule, I'd limit yourself to around a £10 spend.
5. Pop your parcel in the post by December 10th (although try and be a bit more prompt if sending overseas).
6. Sit back and wait to receive your own box of delights from a mystery giver!

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Wherever you are spending Christmas, and whoever you are with, I hope you have a peaceful and joyous time. See you on the other side.

Some simple festive home updates

It's fair to say that I love the run-up to Christmas just as much as the day itself - possible more. The school carol service; the excitement of my pupils as we watch Shrek for the nth time; putting the final decorative touches to my home; baking up a storm; packing the car to visit family. 

Sadly, all of that fell by the wayside this week after I was taken down by severe bronchitis. Four days in bed and I'm only now able to sit up for longer than 15 minutes at a time. Luckily I'd already written my final festive post, about a few simple home updates I've put together this year. 

I am emphatically not one of those too-cool-for-Christmas people (true story - a couple of weeks ago The Boy came into the spare room to find me draped in ribbon, jingling my bells (not a euphemism) and giggling with happiness. He calls me 'Elf' when I get like this, after Will Ferrell's character in the eponymous film). Instead, the whole house undergoes a transformation. If there's a flat surface, I will cover it with fairy lights and greenery. Stand still for too long in December and I might just hang a bauble on you.

As a result, just putting up a tree and a wreath isn't enough for me: the whole house needs to be Christmasified, and preferably with stuff I've made or upcycled. A few years ago I whipped up gingham heart decorations; last year it was the turn of some needlework in the form of appliqued cushion covers and my 'Let It Snow' embroidery hoops; this year I decided to turn an old and unloved mirror into a festive blackboard.

All you'll need is an old mirror or picture frame. I used white paint (just some standard white emulsion I had in the shed) to give the silver frame a distressed, vintage look. Once that had dried, I applied a couple of coats of blackboard paint onto the mirror itself (if applying to a standard picture frame, I'd suggest removing the glass and painting the blackboard paint onto a piece of thick cardboard to sit inside the frame). Chalk pens made the slogan a doddle to write and, together with a jug full of eucalyptus branches, it makes for a very stylish display in our kitchen.

One of my bargain tips is to search out books of sheet music in charity shops. A couple of years ago I hit paydirt in Market Harborough Oxfam, picking up ten books of music that had seen better days together with a volume of Christmas Carols. The framed sheet music from Silent Night makes a simple but beautiful picture, and I also use sheet music to make gift tags, to wrap presents, and to make garlands to hang on the tree.

Do you have any favourite home updates at this time of year?

Good stuff: Links & likes

On The Hungry Vegan we've been baking Christmas Pfefferkuchen and Earl Grey Tea Loaf, and reviewing awesome vegan fast food joint, V Revolution in Manchester.

Why the notion of detoxing is a myth. An important read as we approach January and the season of 'detox diets'.

I seem to be featuring Sarah here a lot lately, but So Your Friend Is Spending Christmas Alone? is full of great advice.

A reminder that the Refuge gift list is still active at John Lewis - use list number 609505 and treat someone who'll be spending this festive season in a women's shelter.

Crysta's post - 8pm On Some Idle Tuesday - is just lovely, I do enjoy reading about happy news.

Nova just opened an online store selling her artwork on stickers, cushions and the like.

A great piece on why - in the narratives around adoption - we need to focus more on adoptees, as well as adoptive parents (found via Charlotte).

And finally something to cheer you: the badass women of 2014 you may not have heard about.

Made: Evergreen wreath

For me, nothing quite says 'Christmas' like bringing boughs of evergreens into the house. From pagan yule logs to modern wreaths, the custom of using holly, ivy and other evergreens to decorate the house in December is an ancient one that has lasted thousands of years. Wreaths made from fresh foliage can be crazily expensive to buy - understandable, as they're time-consuming to put together. But with a bit of foraging for free greenery plus an hour of patience and sore fingers, you can make a wreath that's just as beautiful as a store-bought one.

You will need:

A wreath base (usually made of moss over a wire ring - I found mine on eBay for less than £2)

Armfuls of greenery - at least two different kinds but the sky's the limit. I used cypress, holly, eucalyptus and hebe

Florists wire

Secateurs or strong scissors

3 metres ribbon

Assortment of decorations - I dried some orange slices and teamed them with foraged pine cones and some fake holly berries 

1. First, forage for your greenery. You don't need to live in the countryside for this: I picked up the pinecones from under a tree on a nearby industrial estate, the holly and eucalyptus were from my mum's Bradford back garden, the hebe from a shrub in my yard, and the cypress from a friend's garden. 

2. Soak your ring [snigger] in water before squeezing out any excess.

3. Your wreath will be made up of multiple bundles of greenery, each affixed to the base. If, like me, you're using 3 or 4 different types of foliage, gather a small piece of each type and pull together to form a bouquet. If using more, you could vary the contents of your bundles, aiming for 3 or 4 pieces of foliage in each.

4. Bend a length of wire to form a U-shape at one end, approx. 1 inch long. Place the U at the base of the bouquet (with the remaining wire pointing away from it) and then wind the wire around the bundle two or three times, to hold the bundle together securely. You should be left with about 15cm of wire still pointing away from the bouquet.

5. Push the long piece of wire through your base, bend and push back in again to secure. 

6. Repeat, laying each bundle of greenery so it points in the same direction and overlaps with the previous one, until the wreath base is covered.

7. At this point you may find some bundles need another piece of wire looped around and pushed into the base to ensure they're completely secure.

8. Again using wire, attach the decorations at intervals. 

9. Cut 2 metres from your ribbon and loop it through the inside of the wreath. Tie the remaining metre into a bow around the hanging ribbon, trimming the ends neatly.

10. Once it's hanging up you may need to trim some edges: I found my eucalyptus especially needed a bit of a prune.

11. Step back and admire your work! Wreaths made from fresh foliage will survive for about three to four weeks if hung outside in the cold. 

Made: MERRY & JOY Christmas cards

Being a massive Christmas obsessive, every year I pick up a few of the Christmas magazines from the supermarket to indulge myself, and it was in the Ideal Home Christmas* mag that I saw the image that would give me the idea for these cards. Their suggestion was to use air-drying clay to make personalised gift tags (I think they'd also make great place settings for a DIY wedding) but I had the idea to make them into cute hanging decorations to put onto the front of Christmas cards.

* I know, I really am rock & roll till I die, aren't I!

You will need:
- White air-drying clay (mine was from eBay)
- A flat surface, such as a glass chopping board or clean worktop
- Rolling pin
- Biscuit cutters
- Alphabet stamps (a lot of tutorials specify metal stamps, but I used standard rubber stamps from Paperchase and they were fine)
- A skewer or chopstick
- Very fine sandpaper
- Thin ribbon
- Washi tape
- Coloured card

1. Pull out a good handful of clay and knead for a minute or two. Roll out to approximately 4mm thick - too thin and the shapes will tear or warp when you stamp them. As you roll, keep lifting and flipping the clay or it will adhere to your work surface.

2. Use the biscuit cutters - I used two sizes of hearts and stars - to cut out your shapes. Remove excess clay and lift the shapes off the board again, to prevent sticking. I can't emphasise how important this is: not lifting regularly will leave you will lovely, neat shapes that are thoroughly stuck to your work surface!

3. Use a skewer or chopstick to make a hole towards the top of each shape. I found this easiest to do if I held the shape in one hand while pushing the chopstick through with the other.

4. Placing the shape onto the board again, use the stamps to spell out your message. I used MERRY for my larger shapes and JOY for my smaller ones. You could also personalise these by stamping the recipient's name.

5. Flatten out any slightly curled edges and leave to dry. This will take upwards of 48 hours.

6. Once completely dry and set, use the sandpaper to very gently remove the rough edges from your shapes.

7. Thread some pretty ribbon through the hole and use a small piece of craft or washi tape to affix to the back or inside of your folded card, leaving the decoration hanging over the top onto the front of the card. I used red card, because it's what I had to hand, but I think they'd look stunning hung with silver ribbon onto dark blue card.

Spending ban update: month three

If you recall, I ended October bemoaning the fact that every month seems to bring a new and unexpected expense. And lo and behold, just 3 days into November our washing machine broke, so it was goodbye to £90 for my share of a new one. Other than that, though, I had a really successful month.

When I started the ban, I made a short list of clothing items that I needed and would allow - winter shoes, a jumper, a new bra and a black skirt. I'd put jumpers on my 'allowed' list because incredibly, I only owned one (and live in a cold house). So, when I sold a few bits on eBay at the start of November, I decided to spend some of the £80 profit on buying the clothes I needed. I got two jumpers for £31 (hooray for discount vouchers, an H&M giftcard found at the bottom of my purse, and an ASOS code) and also bought a bra for £28, leaving me with a tiny bit left over in my PayPal account.

Apart from that, I managed to limit my spending to Christmas gifts and a few meals out with either The Boy or friends. I've done most of my Christmas shopping, spending about £80 in total plus £50 more from my Nectar points. However, as we creep ever closer to Christmas it's becoming harder and harder to stick to my rules. Although in theory I was always allowed to spend money on gifts, once I start splashing the cash on one thing it gets more difficult to put my wallet away when I see something I want. It's also been hard to separate actual essential spending (do I need Christmas craft materials? What about if they're being used to make presents?) from discretionary spending. So I'm going to suspend the ban for the month of December. I'd intended to finish at the end of the year, but will instead start again in January and continue for at least another month into 2015.

Overall, and even accounting for washing machine breakdowns & gift buying, I still managed to put £400 into my savings, which is an amazing result. I also got a surprise £195 cheque (relating to an old loan I used to have with Tesco Bank) and have put that straight into my savings account too, rather than splashing the cash like I usually would. As much as I do enjoy shopping, it's nice to see my savings growing so after break in December, I'm keen to get back to the ban and see if I can add to my current total.

How to have a conscious Christmas

,

When I talk about a 'conscious Christmas', I mean one which is conscious of social justice and the environment, conscious of the things that matter in our lives - family, friends, simple living - rather than getting into debt. I love Christmas with all of my heart, but I'll be the first to admit that every year the 'noise' surrounding it becomes more and more focused on capitalist consumption, with all the exploitative practice that implies. So I thought I'd put together a few ideas to help make your Christmas more conscious.

Have an Amazon-free festive season
Amazon don't pay a living wage. They evade tax to the tune of billions of pounds. They don't respect the rights of their workers, don't engage with unions, and use zero hours contracts. And yet, because they're convenient to use, we continue buying from them even though we know it's wrong. This Christmas, think before you click and look elsewhere. eBay usually has similar prices on many goods you might usually buy from Amazon. For online book shoppping, Hive supports independent booksellers and you can arrange to collect your orders from a local store. Record Store are comparable, price wise, to Amazon and are excellent for niche, indie releases.. This Christmas, there's no excuse to keep giving money to a company that contributes nothing to the British economy.

Handcraft to your heart's content

Every Christmas I try and make a few gifts by hand, and they almost always turn out to be the ones that are most appreciated. This year I've been making personalised tote bags and teacup candles. Home-baked biscuits, chutneys or jams are always well-received, and Lily also wrote a good round-up of handmade gifts last week. Or, instead of more 'stuff', think about giving something more precious: time. Make a voucher for an afternoon tea party round yours for your friends; pick up tickets for a play or gig for your hard-to-buy-for brother; treat your mum to a slap-up dinner and cocktails.

It's all in the detail

Andrea's lovely post about her festive to-do list reminded me that it's the small things that matter at this time of year: an open fire, listening to some Christmas music (my favourites are Ella Fitzgerald, Sufjan Stevens, and She & Him), or baking up a storm. The small details, often cheap or free, are what really make the festive season special. How about going out for a winter walk foraging for evergreens to make a beautiful Christmas wreath? Watch out for a how-to on the blog later this week.

Give a gift that matters

2014 is the third year that John Lewis have partnered with Refuge to run their gift list, providing Christmas presents for women and children in shelters around the UK. Other local charities run similar projects, enabling you to buy toys for children in care or children from families who otherwise couldn't afford anything. If there's one thing I will encourage you to spend you money on this Christmas, it's this. And thanks to @OddSocksAlex who reminded me about foodbank donations. As criminal as it is that one of the richest countries in the world has so many foodbanks, do think about giving something to help them provide for people over Christmas. Fareshare are currently collecting in Tesco stores around the country, so why not add a little extra to your weekly shop.

Shop local; shop independent
This year, make your Christmas shopping count by spending money at local and independent businesses rather than handing it over to exploitative multinationals. Here in Leicester we're lucky to have a whole quarter - The Lanes - housing small businesses, as well as fabulous food shopping at the famous market. But Leicester isn't unique; every town or city in the UK has independent shops crying out for your custom. From gorgeous handcrafted jewellery, to toys, homewares, and clothing, there's often no need to grace the big chain stores with your presence at all this Christmas. Or visit a maker's mart or craft fair: I'm looking forward to hitting up the Bust Craftacular in London on December 14th, but there are events around the country in the run-up to Christmas, giving you a chance to buy directly from makers.

My Christmas wish list

What I'd really like for Christmas is the destruction of patriarchy, a Green/SNP coalition at next year's General Election, and an end to our reliance on fossil fuels. But other than that, I'm a simple soul: cool prints, feminist anything, a pretty dress, or a slogan tote bag will always be on my list.

1. I so, so want this ace 'Smash patriarchy' t-shirt from Cafe Press. I'm already planning my SS15 wardrobe, which if I have my way will mostly be this tee teamed with a rotation of midi skirts.

2. I already have the Sugar & Vice 'Feminist' necklace but would love this cute brooch to match. It's a mere £7 from Kate's Little Store on Etsy.

3. I'm crazy in love with this lace dress from H&M. How perfect would it be for Christmas Day dinner?

4. The totes from Alphabet Bags are all amazing, but I'm particularly taken with this Hello Sunshine design. Or perhaps I should continue the feminism theme with the Riots Not Diets tote bag from Miss Harry on Etsy, which would go perfectly with my necklace.

5. One of The Boy's nicknames for me is 'Plan It Janet', so this Ok Here's the Plan notebook would be ideal for my lists. And it's 25% off at Debenhams at the moment (thanks to Hook, Line & Sink Her for alerting me to this news - I do love a bargain).

6. Having for years relied on sagging Primark pyjamas, last winter I treated myself to a pair of Fat Face pj trousers and it was a revelation, I tell thee. The quality and comfort is well worth the price tag (particularly as I spend at least 80% of my free time in pyjamas during the winter months). These reindeer ones would be a lovely to wear on Christmas morning.

7. I've had Steal Like An Artist (a guide to creativity) on my book list for ages, and would love to find it in my stocking.

8. Art for my walls is always a good bet - I love black & white photography or anything featuring text and typography. This print from Red Bubble would be perfect in our bedroom.

What's on your Christmas wish list this year?

Made: Personalised tote bag

It's safe to say that I adore anything personalised, and I recently had the notion to make some personalised tote bags as gifts for Christmas this year. I found a great deal on plain cotton bags on eBay, so they worked out at less than 80p apiece, and raided my fabric stash for small, colourful scraps, to make gifts that are not only pretty and personal, but thrifty too.

I can't say that this make was simple ('What I wish I'd realised' below), but even allowing for my panics and mess-ups (I had to unpick the first section a couple of times) it only took an hour from step 1. to completion.

You will need...

- A plain tote bag

- A letter template (I used Commerce SF in font size 700)

- A scrap of patterned fabric

- Iron-on interfacing

- Contrasting cotton thread

1. Using a hot iron, first iron your fabric flat and then affix the interfacing (shiny side facing up) to your fabric.

2. Pin the template to your reinforced fabric and cut round neatly using fabric scissors. 

3. Carefully pin the fabric letter to the front of your bag (not through the whole bag, as I initially did!). I used a measuring tape to ensure it was exactly centred.

4. Set your sewing machine to the correct setting - you want very tight stitches for the applique to look neat and tidy.

5. Placing the edge of your fabric in the middle of your presser foot, begin sewing slowly. You may, like me, panic that your fabric isn't moving. Don't worry! The tightness of the stitches means it moves through the machine very slowly.

6. Take extra care around corners. The straight lines are simple but I struggled with guiding the fabric neatly around curves and in the corners where two lines met. Remember: less speed more haste.

7. Once the sewing is finished, give the bag a final press with the iron to neaten it up. It will have been squashed and folded while sewing.

What I wish I'd realised...

- That maneuvering the bag around the needle - and ensuring I didn't sew it shut - was going to be a tough task. But persevere - it is possible. This could be solved by making your own bag in the first place, which is a longer - but not difficult - process. That way, you could sew the letter onto flat fabric before assembling the bag.
- That sewing curves was going to be such a bitch: I apologise now to whoever receives this one for Christmas as the bottom curve of the J is a hot mess. I think in future I'll stick to letters with entirely straight edges!

Sign up for the Thrifty Christmas Gift Swap!

Image source here

It feels like I've been away from blogging for ages, not just a week. First I had a chest infection that would just not shift (I've still got a rather fetching hacking cough), then I spent a long weekend on holiday in Norfolk. But now I'm BACK and ready to talk about Christmas.

What do you mean, it's too early to think about Christmas?!  By this time in October I have already begun making notes and lists, and the present buying is well underway.  I'm starting to dig out last year's decorations and thinking about what to use this year, and the temptation to begin listening to Sufjan Stevens' Christmas albums is building (every year I try - and fail - to hold off until December 1st).

Last Christmas was the second year that I ran the Thrifty Christmas Gift Swap, and it was great to have lots of participants making and thrifting cool gifts for each other.

I had so much fun picking out my gifts last year (I ended up giving a map-covered letter R, a book about Yorkshire Christmas traditions - my giftee lived in God's Own County -, a teacup candle, a mulling sachet for cider or wine, a book-themed tote bag, and a handmade Christmas decoration), and even more fun awaiting the arrival of my own box.

I'd love to run it again, and only need a handful of participants to make it work. Crucially, you do not need to be a blogger to take part: last year was about a 50/50 split between bloggers and non-bloggers. So, if you're interested, have a gander at the rules below and then contact me on the email address below to sign up.  (And if you're a blogger or on Twitter, feel free to reblog or retweet this post to spread the word!)

The Rules
1. Send your name, address, blog address (if you have one) and a couple of lines about yourself to jbistheinitial@gmail.com by November 17th.
2. Wait to receive the details of your swapee (to be sent out by November 24th).
3. Put together a box of thrifted, handmade or secondhand goodies that you think your recipient will love.  Last year, gifts ranged from framed animation strips from the giftees favourite film, to Christmas mix CDs, to handmade brooches, to secondhand books. As a general rule, I'd say to limit yourself to around a £10 spend.
4. Pop your parcel in the post by December 10th (although try and be a bit more prompt if sending overseas).
5. Sit back and wait to receive your own box of delights from a mystery giver!

November & December reads

1. Paper Towns was my fourth John Green read of 2013.  It's the tale of high school senior Quentin (Q) and his obsession with solving the mystery of his childhood friend Margo's disappearance. As with most Green novels, it deals with life in suburban America and how it feeds adolescent alientation, and if that all sounds a bit wanky, it really isn't. Q and his two best friends are winning and engaging characters, and their quest becomes tense and engrossing.

2. If it's Christmas, one must re-read A Christmas Carol!

3. Comfort & Joy was another seasonal re-read. India Knight's novel shows us three Christmasses in the life of Clara - the protagonist of her debut novel, My Life On A Plate and this year's Mutton. It is, like it's title, a comforting read and an utter joy.

4. & 5. Let It Snow and Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares are pure festive escapism. The former is a collection of three linked, long-short stories (around 100 pages per story, each by a different writer) set during a Christmas snowstorm in a small town in North Carolina. Cheesy YA romance, yes, but lovely to read while curled up by the fire while Monday's storm raged outside. The latter is a book I've read over and over again, but love each time. Set over the Christmas period in New York, Dash and Lily communicate via a book of dares, getting to know one another through the notes they leave and edging closer to meeting and falling... in love?

6. I'd heard of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce novels, which are a pastiche of the Golden Age of crime books by writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers, but never read one before. I Am Half Sick Of Shadows was set at Christmas, hence the appeal, and I absolutely loved Flavia, the 11 year-old, poison-obsessed heroine. I'll definitely be on the look out for others in the series.

7. Although this post makes it look like I read a lot over two months, in reality most of November was spent reading A Storm Of Swords: Blood & Gold, while I then raced through book after book in December (especially once school finished).  The second part of the third Game of Thrones book, it was an amazing read and well worth devoting all that time to. 

8. I was also slowly working my way through Reclaiming The F Word, a very readable treatise on the new feminist movement.  Published three years ago, the authors rightly predicted the enormous impact the then-burgeoning internet campaigns would have on feminism.

9. Girl On The Net was a cheap 99p download, based on the blog of the same name.  I'm enjoying it so far (although warning: it's utter filth!).

 

10. At the time of writing, I'm still reading this and number 11.  After a somewhat slow start, I've once again been entirely sucked into the world of Westeros.  What on earth will I do with my time when I finally get to the end of the series?

11. Although I've not quite finished Longbourn, it is definitely in the running for my book of 2013.  This beautiful novel is based on Pride & Prejudice, but written from the servants' perspective.  So, although Elizabeth Bennett, Darcy and the rest appear, they are merely background characters, while taking centre stage is Sarah, the Bennett's maid, whose world is turned upside down with the arrival of a new footman at Longbourn.  Wonderfully written, with the kind of prose you can luxuriate in.  I cannot recommend it enough.

Seen & heard: November & December

1. Gravity was The Boy's choice on a recent date night, and I have to admit that I wasn't overly keen on seeing it (having read one too many tweets lamenting either its length and lack of action or, conversely, the extreme tension and stress felt while viewing). But I really enjoyed it; how nice to see a woman in the leading role of an action/sci-fi flick.

2. Knocked Up was a re-watch this month.  Always funny, but the cameos by Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, Charlene Yi and Jason Segel are the best things about it.

4. As I do every year, I watched A Christmas Carol at school with year 6.

5. I only saw Elf for the first time last year, but I think its viewing may become a new festive tradition.  This time round, I introduced The Boy to the tale of Buddy the Elf; ever since, he has taken to calling me 'Elf' when I get too over-excited and shrieky about Christmas.

6. My mum and I watched The Family Stone on Christmas Eve and wept copiously, as always.  It's one of my favourite Christmas films.

7. Finally, I can hardly believe that I'd never seen It's A Wonderful Life before!  Luckily, our local independent cinema had a charity screening in aid of Action Homeless, so The Boy and I took ourselves down there.  It made a brilliant end to a long and gruelling term at school (even if we did go through rather a lot of tissues).

Heard...

If it's November and December, then Sufjan Stevens' two Christmas collections - Songs For Christmas  and Silver & Gold - will be on constant rotation round my way.  Seriously, I've listened to almost nothing else for the past five weeks!