For many, a nostalgic Christmas is a time to re-live family traditions that bring joy, warmth and love into the household. As the years pass, the hustle and bustle of modern day life can sometimes overshadow the simple pleasures that once made Christmas feel so special. If you’re looking to recapture the spirit of past holiday seasons we thoroughly recommend creating a cosy, nostalgic space that brings back those lovingly treasured memories with family & friends.

Creating an authentic home feeling this Christmas

Here at Brit Heart, we love to create an authentic and organic feel in our home by re-connecting with seasonal nature. Foraging for natural elements is both a fun activity for involving all the family and also cost-efficient as there’s a good chance that if you’re in the right place, you can find all you need on the ground!

We recommend sourcing a mix of twisted stems of hazel birch, dogwood, willow, honeysuckles and vines. To decorate, berries, cones, hawthorn, mistletoe, rosehip, holly, ivy and pinecones. If you won’t immediately be decorating your home, store the leaves and branches in a plastic bag and keep at a cool temperature. If you want your holly to look it’s best, collect it only a week before you want to display it! All of these natural finds can be used for table displays, decorating the fire place, stair cases, hallways and of course for weaving a beautiful wreath to hang from the front door.

Our approach to decorating the Christmas tree

Decorating the Christmas tree is the true highlight for us. Our Brit Heart collection of hearts, stars and baubles bring the tree to life from top to bottom - sparkling with twinkling lights and an abundance of fond childhood memories.

Baking some homemade festive treats is another brilliant wholesome activity for all the family. Our favourite recipes include mince pies, ginger bread men, and an Austrian Gugelhupf cake. My husband is Austrian and we have his great grandmother special recipe. We love getting cosy, sitting by a roaring fire with a glass of mulled wine and a warm mince pie fresh out the oven in hand.

Spreading the Festive joy

Finally, we believe that most importantly we should spread the spirit of Christmas with those we know that perhaps find this time of year much harder than ourselves and children less fortunate than our own. Every year we take part in putting together some creative festive boxes for charity to embrace the spirt of giving. Even just a little can go a long way.