How to Make Your Holidays as Waste-Free as Possible: DIY Tips and Advice
For example, instead of a ribbon, use compostable twine or string with a cutting—a sprig of holly, a clipping of eucalyptus, or the branch of a fir—tucked into it. It’s a rustic look that will hold up even if you wrap things well in advance. Alternatively, slip in something less hardy, like flowers or berries, […]
How to write a holiday rom-com for TV, according to the experts
Have you ever watched a holiday rom-com on Hallmark Channel or Lifetime — or any of the other many networks and streamers that now air them — and thought, “I could write that”? It’s harder than you may think — but just as fun. Regular writers of Christmas fare for Hallmark Channel, Great American Family […]
How to maximise your annual leave in 2024
2023 is over and what better way to celebrate the new year than planning your 2024 annual leave to maximise your time off. Using a couple of clever tricks you can turn 23 days of annual leave into 48 luscious days off in 2024. And we’re going to show you how. But before we start, a couple […]
How to detox like the rich after Christmas – without the cost
Throughout my life I’ve toggled between extremes: making a mess (regular overeating or binges) then a vigorous clean-up (ultra-hardcore diets). It’s not all grim compulsion – I also passionately love food, exploring cuisines, and good wine. But my relationship to nourishment, and my body, is unbalanced; the only healthy constant throughout my adult life has […]
When to take your Christmas tree down, and how to dispose of it
Have you taken down your Christmas tree yet? Chances are you haven’t. Whether you chose to decorate a natural or artificial tree this year, you’re probably still admiring the sight of it in your living room, and in no immediate rush to part with the warm, magical feeling it brings. Of the approximately 94 million […]
Here’s how to track Santa this Christmas with NORAD
Santa Claus and his reindeer have taken off from the North Pole to bring holiday cheer and presents to children across the world. As millions of households await his arrival, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa and his crew, children can have a heads-up on when the jolly man is heading toward them. To […]
The Baby Jesus Taught Us How to Scream
This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. Before I begin, let me tell you that I hate what I am about to do. That’s because few things exasperate me more than the people who Well, actually Christmas songs. True, there was no innkeeper in the gospel Nativity accounts. We don’t know how […]
How to be the best gift giver
Are you a good gift … receiver? My school has this program that gives students “high fives.” These are at a boys and girls teachers send to kids to acknowledge any area of their growth and success. I took advantage of sending a few fivers a month ago to a student in French one that […]
How to exit an uncomfortable conversation
The end of the year brings with it a seemingly endless parade of holiday parties. While some gatherings can be perfectly pleasant, many are riddled with uncomfortable situations. One particularly tricky scenario you might encounter is being cornered into a conversation you don’t want to be having: distant relatives chiming in on world politics, a […]
Can We Consume Character? How to Learn Justice by Feasting
In the Old Testament, Israel found herself surrounded by monarchies and empires with powerful rulers and highly stratified societies, and she eventually sought to emulate that kind of system. Such political economies were filled with bureaucrats, professional soldiers, priestly classes, and—down at the bottom of the social pyramid—peasants. The peasants, of course, were expected to […]