A Trick of the Light

We are heading for the shortest day of the year and as the Winter Solstice and Christmas approach it's time to enjoy a little light to get us through the darkest days.

The Place du Solonçon in our quarter of Cognac by lamplight

The other evening we took the dogs out for a stroll around the centre of Cognac to look at the Christmas lights.  They were rather low-key compared with somewhere like the Champs-Elysées in Paris, but after living in the countryside for several years, where there was little sign when the festive season was upon us, they were simply magical to me.

On the way to the centre of town via the old medieval quarter of Cognac

Place François 1er in the heart of Cognac

The elegant bridge over the River Charente that leads us home 

Usually on returning home from a Winter evenings walk we would all snuggle up in front of a fire but this year we sadly don't have that luxury.  Having recently moved I discovered to my dismay that my dream of a roaring open fire this Christmas was not to be because the flue of our fireplace was already being used by our monster of a 1970's boiler.

So until we update the heating system I've had to improvise by putting some red tinsel in the fire basket along with some pine cones and twinkly lights.  I also placed a mirror behind it to reflect back the light and was genuinely surprised at how effective this was. So with my makeshift fire and a few lit candles placed around the room we couldn't be cosier.

You could argue that the fireguard is unnecessary but our electrics are
so ancient it's possibly not as mad as it looks

The pinnacle of bringing light into the home though is, of course, the good old Christmas tree.  This year for the first time we bought a cut tree.  Normally we buy a small tree with roots and attempt to plant it out in the garden in the New Year but because we are now in town and only have a courtyard I broke with traditional and bought what I like to think of as a massive cut flower to ease my guilty conscience.  

Our Christmas tree - The masking tape on the walls is a little odd I'll
grant you but it is marking out where we plan to open up the walls

The upside to the terrible guilt I felt at buying a dead tree is that I could have a much larger one than ever before (woo hoo!).  Spike stopped me from buying a floor to ceiling tree because we don't have much space in the corner of the room at the moment but next year, once the walls have been opened up and the room has been decorated, I have promised myself a tree that touches the ceiling (I seem to have somehow overcome that crippling feeling of guilt)

We buy each other a new bauble every year
which helps gives the tree individuality

OK I bought this one for myself

Oh and this one from a brocante in the Summer

One idea that I saw on TV and would like to try next year is to use vintage pocket watch cases as Christmas tree decorations.  They took the cases of broken pocket watches, with no intrinsic value, and removed the inner workings (which are too heavy for a tree although beautiful in their own right).  They then replaced the innards with photos of loved ones or Christmas scenes.  You could of course put whatever you want in them which is what makes the idea so charming and personal.

In order to be able to do this I will need to get to an auction in England and buy a job lot but I think the idea is wonderful and hope to sell them in the shop I am planning to have open by next Christmas. I am also toying with the idea of using vintage brooches as tree decorations because these little works of art are very undervalued at the moment and can be quite beautiful.

A super way to add a vintage feel to your Christmas tree

It only remains for me to wish you a joyful, light-filled Christmas