Sunday 22 December 2013

Christmas

Carluccio's Christmas packaging 
 My grandfather loved crystallised fruit. Seeing it reminds me of Christmas.

When my family lived in the Middle East it must have been difficult for my parents to provide a Christmas for us three children. Back then toys were hard to come by. I remember receiving a lamp from them one Christmas and on another occasion a chess set (I was only about 7!) 

My brother must have got a cap gun because I remember my Dad using it. At that time he was getting pesky phone calls from a man who just said,'I weel keel you.' Driven to exasperation by the frequency of these calls one Christmas Day Dad grabbed my brother's toy gun and shot off several caps directly into the mouthpiece. That might have stung a bit... Anyway there were no more calls.

Crystallised fruit, reels of caps for toy guns I'm not sure you can get those things any more.

Children today seem to want money or an i-Pad or clothes. It's magic to watch their faces as they look through Frank Higgins' handmade kaleidoscopes in Handmade Happiness. Or to see the little ones reaching towards Sue Inglis' hand-knitted cats, mice and bunnies.

Every Christmas I think: 'Let's make this a completely hand made Christmas.' It takes some planning but when I hear customers talk about the chutney, cakes, jams, handmade cards and gifts they make I am full of admiration. It is possible and maybe next year....  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is there any french robot around here ?