I had to take a photograph of this empty space. It really doesn’t happen very often, but yesterday I finished my Christmas journal for 2021 and put away all the Christmas themed stuff. Over the last few weeks it’s crept out of the box and over every surface of all three of my worktables, despite all my efforts to contain it. The trouble is, if it’s in a box then it doesn’t get used…and what’s the point of having it if I don’t use it?

It seems a long time since I put that first page together. I always try to set the scene and put things into context - to explain why the first few pages include particular bits and pieces, perhaps; maybe souvenirs from recent travels or, for the second year running, why our December routine is a little different.

I try to record something for each day, sometimes prompted by an actual event but occasionally just a general memory or story. So I may not have actually made the folded stars on the 8th, but I wanted to record that, for the first time this year, my no-longer-small friends didn’t need my help in remembering how to fold those lovely Froebel stars.

I always include a page about making our Christmas cards. This year, it includes the tale of the Pentel pens, which were key to the design and which stopped working remarkably quickly. A moan to Pentel resulted in a swift and generous replacement from them, for which I was very grateful.

Usually, the pages will have a fair amount of ephemera, but since we didn’t go very far, this year’s journal is mostly photographs.

Whenever I did grab hold of a label or two, I had to quickly squirrel it away before it was recycled!

To make my Christmas Eve pages, I used the Jolly Nice Christmas brochure, which just happened to be the right size. I must remember that for next year and maybe pick up two of them, so I can use both sides!

I always finish with a memory from a past Christmas; this time 2001. Of those around the table, just Bettine is still with us and the page prompts a moment of quiet reflection.

A picture of the same Advent candles as on the front page, some four weeks later rounds off this year’s journal. It’s been fun to put together and I am happy to squeeze it onto the shelf with the other 15 (or is it 16?)

Most of all, I am happy to regain my workspace!