having a very special advent with Botanical Tales
Name the thing that you need more of in the dark December.
This is a tool to have more of it in your life. Joy, hope, peace, spaciousness or inspiration. There is only one rule; it is not for your to do list.
The steps are simple in practical terms. Find a twiggy branch, the more three dimensional the better. Cut twenty-four pieces of string. Tear up twenty-four pieces of paper. You now need to think of twenty-four things that will enrich your life. When I say things, it could be activities, affirmations, journal prompts, anything at all that moves you towards how you want to feel during this most frantic of seasons.
To feel connected, you might have a scroll that suggests you book a table at your favourite restaurant and take the time to celebrate love with your other half. Another day it might suggest you ask them how they are and really listen to the answer. It might be to spend half an hour with small children and a board game. It might suggest you get in touch with someone you love but you haven’t spoken to in too long.
Joy. I think everyone is different with this one. What sparks joy for me might leave you cold. Also, it is all too easy to do joyful things in a joyless way. If you are going to put your boots on and crunch through frosty grass, really put our boots on and crunch through it. Breathe deeply. Feel it. If you are going to open a bottle of champagne, get the best flutes (saucers if you are really fancy) out and laugh long and hard.
Sing Hark the Herald at the top of your lungs. I get particular pleasure out of singing the descant really badly.
Peace. I personally don’t think ten minutes peace and quiet is a big ask for everyday life, but I also know that I can’t remember when I sat still for ten whole minutes. (Driving doesn’t count.) No screens, no phone, no radio on, no writing shopping lists or mentally planning the next day. If you need a scroll of paper to unravel every single day of Advent to remind you that stillness makes life worthwhile, then do it.
Candle optional.
You can listen to Bex and I discussing how her branches came about and her suggestions and ideas for daily joy by listening in to our conversation below.
You will need:
Branch
Twine or thin string (I think the finer the better as it hangs straighter)
Paper (the 150gsm cotton rag paper is perfect for this as it tears with a lovely edge, but any quite thick paper will do)
Dried flowers, honesty seed pods, springs of evergreen
Instructions
Find a fallen branch, or cut one if you have any sort of tree that needs a prune. If you are in the UK, Storm Arwen may have gifted you some previously unreachable boughs. You know how much I adore beech but it isn’t great for this sort of thing; too flat. You need one that sprouts in all different directions and in different planes. Bex used magnolia which had a particularly beautiful texture and of course, furry buds.
It is easier to hang your branch first and then attach things too it. Like wreath making, the end result is always more satisfactory if you can see how it is developing as you go along.
Tear or cut your paper until you have twenty-four equal pieces. There may be events or activities that that need a certain day and so you might want to colour code.
On each piece of paper, write something that will enrich your life. With your theme (joy, peace, space, love) in mind, twenty-four activities, affirmations, messages to your future self. Whatever it is you need. Take your time with this step.
Cut twenty-four pieces of twine of varying lengths and roll the paper into a scroll. You can number the outside, especially if there are certain days for things, or simply leave the universe to decide what you need most that day. Wrap the end of the string around the scroll and tie a knot.
Halfway up each bit of string (you can do more or less depending on your taste for abundance or minimalism) tie a sprig of bracken leaf, a larch cone, seed head or a berry. Whatever you can find or forage. They don’t have to be very big, just a touch of texture. Peeled honesty seed heads have the advantage of natural sparkle.
Tie the end of the strings onto the branch. Again, vary the length a bit and keep stepping back to see how it is looking from a distance.
And you are done. A simple way of reminding ourselves every single day that life isn’t meant to be a rush and a trial, and that December isn’t meant to be a haze of panic buying and mince pies for lunch as we rush to meet holiday deadlines. There can be moments of stillness wherever and whenever.
I cannot thank Bex enough for sharing this beautiful process with us and I would be delighted if it became part of your Advent tradition too.