A gift guide for the soul
Ideas that will bring true comfort and joy (and not a scented candle amongst them)
Firstly, I am sorry this is late. I spent all weekend travelling back to the UK after being stranded at Copenhagen airport for what seemed like forever. Still, it did get me in the festive spirit. There were Christmas buns for sale in Ole & Steen (not worth the calories); some Danish version of Michael Buble playing in Duty Free (surprisingly fabulous), whilst festive-minded travellers had all added sprigs of tinsel to their luggage. (Okay, maybe a bit much.)
Anyway, my point is it got me thinking about Christmas- and how little I have actually done. I’ve no tree, no gifts and no real idea of who is coming for Boxing Day. But here is what I have done. I have figured out how best to use this time of year. Because really, once you get to a certain age Christmas becomes less about spectacle and consumption and more about self-nourishment and contemplation. Basically you figure out what you need to make this time of year work for you.
So unlike everyone else on Substack I’ve decided not to do a typical gift guide this year. After all, you don’t need another person telling you you need another designer candle in your life. (Though I can do that if you want.) Instead I wanted to share with you the things that have brought me deep comfort and lasting joy when done at this time of year. My sincerest hope is they will do the same for you.
Farrah x
PS: Speaking of comfort and joy, I was invited onto
’s excellent podcast, Spilling The Tea a few weeks back. We covered a lot of ground- leaving a job you love, childlessness, beauty…she is a very good interviewer. Anyway if you manage to get a moment to yourself this month and fancy getting to know me a bit better then have a listen.PPS: I’ll also be doing another ‘sample sale’ preview this week for paid subscribers. Basically I’m selling off a bunch of my most beautiful designer pieces (some of the money of which will go to the charities listed below) and paid subs will get a special preview tomorrow before I open this up to everyone. So if you want first dibs you know what to do…
PPS: And if you fancy bringing me some comfort and joy to me then I’d love it is you’d consider signing this petition to offer Beau the calf a sanctuary this Christmas. Who the hell is Beau, you ask? Good question. Those of you in the UK may remember Surrey police ploughed into a small black calf some months back. That’s Beau and he is still awaiting a sanctuary home but needs 50,000 signatures in order for that to happen. He is nearly there at 42k signatures. So if you have a spare 30 seconds (it takes no longer and there’s no nasty pictures when you click on the link) please consider signing it. It would make my Christmas…and Beau’s I imagine. Sign it here.
Okay, onto those ideas…