What to do in the 'Twixmas' period between Christmas and the new year
After weeks of gathering momentum, the marching band of festivities comes to a standstill as soon as Boxing Day is over. It's what we call 'Twixmas', and if you're always left wondering how best to fill that period between Christmas and the new year, then read on for Red's top tips...
What is Twixmas?
Behold, the week in between Christmas and new year, when routine loses all substance. The time for luxuriating in an abundance of absolute nothingness is now. But when time shapeshifts, how do you fill the limbo at home, if at all?
Read on to lean into the languid nature of Twixmas and delve into the varying degrees of sweet, pleasurable nothingness...
Do nothing at all
Should you need an excuse, let it be this: the shrinking days and ever-so-long nights call for restorative hibernation. Refamiliarise yourself with your favourite nooks at home and cocoon yourself in cosiness.
Take a cue from Rowen & Wren: what better way to stretch out your slumber than by melting into plush, plump quilting?
Blood Orange & Whisky Marmalade
Portable Xmas Tree Candle
Stripe Duvet Cover
Or look through the lens of Farrow & Ball, which creates stillness and calm among the juxtaposed bygone festivities and blue-green tones of the new year. A sumptuous any-time-of-day bath beckons. Candlelight, too, is requisite.
As for scent, think about your innermost comforts: do you hanker for whiffs of Nordmann fir a little while longer? Try ‘Portable Xmas Tree’ by D.S. & Durga. Or maybe it’s the aroma as well as the act of reading that helps you hunker down – a whiff of the Papier candle by Diptyque is bound to please.
Do a little
If you dare venture out, do nourish the dwindling pantry on your return with a bundle of nourishing staples. Twixmas is all about finding joy in the quotidian – freezer fodder et al – while also elevating it.
Try Armando’s Italian Deli if you’re Twixmassing in Chester. Ditto Panzer’s in north London. Likewise, buttery pastries and bakery-fresh bread are Twixmas necessities (the queues snaking around Edinburgh’s Lannan and Suffolk’s Pump Street Bakery are worth every inch).
Rambler
Wooden Backgammon
Picnic Basket
Better still, a winter picnic – hot toddies and flasks essential – will top off any blustery walk. Ottolenghi has all you require for this – order the savoury selection hamper filled with cheese and pistachio biscuits, olives and rosemary spiced nuts. Or for a Jay Rayner-approved alfresco feast, head to The Hidden Hut near Portscatho on Cornwall’s handsome, rugged coast. Pay heed to the warm, cosy menu for January-cooking inspiration.
If you do brave the great outdoors? Don’t scrimp on flasks. Or blankets.
But if guests are coming to you, the top ingredient for anyone playing host really is a sense of togetherness. Banquette seating is shorthand for closeness. If your kitchen is sans banquette, pull up benches festooned with blankets to the table to recreate an all-together atmosphere.
Tabletop, a simpler bill of fare is welcome: layer rich, earthy hues with shades of burnished bronze and pinky nougat for extra intimacy and warmth.
Festive foliage might be looking forlorn by now – and the once-ripe Christmas tree more dishevelled than dramatic – but rescue any smaller, cheerier branches to display in bud vases dotted across the house for a whimsical William Morris-esque backdrop.
Walmer Castle, Notting Hill. This handsome Victorian hostelry has served generations of locals ever since 1845. Isabella Worsley’s sympathetic redesign highlights the building’s exceptional bones, including a run of four huge West-facing sash windows that flood the first floor with sunlight.' expand='' crop='original'][/image]
Do a lot (more)
Hungry for new scenery? Or maybe you’re tethered by the allure of home comforts a little longer? Make it both with a visit to your local. Whether yours houses a motley crew of dried shrubbery or is bathed in snug, mellow lighting, the key is to seek out whichever kind of warmth echoes homely familiarity for you.
Case in point: Walmer Castle, a historic pub brought back to its halcyon days with the help of art consultant Olivia Paterson and interior designer Isabella Worsley.
Here you’ll find crackling open fires, brick red upholstery and wooden panelling festooned with an impressive art collection (including works by Cornelia Parker, Tracey Emin, Yinka Shonibare, Jack Penny and William Hogarth).
It’s not just about traditional pub decor, either. Take note from Ambassadors Clubhouse in Mayfair – the latest venture from siblings Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi (the masterminds behind the likes of Gymkhana and Hoppers). With smatterings of amber, gold and tobacco hues, the rich enchanting interiors echo the siblings’ grandfather’s summer house in northern India and the region’s abandoned party mansions, as well as the Sethi’s Punjabi heritage.
The result? Much like Twixmas, it’s a unique alchemy of family, cosiness and unrelenting glamour all at once. Now, who wouldn’t want some of that?
8 more places worth leaving the house for...
This small but perfectly formed restaurant is among chef Angela Hartnett’s favourites in the UK.
A Natural Wine Bar serving seasonal small plates nestled among the cool, eclectic Ancoats neighbourhood.
Drink in the scenery of this classic restaurant, set in a beautifully converted former bank.
Thanks to its country-ish charm, this pub feels worlds away from its Notting Hill backdrop.
The bona fide pies alone are worth a visit to this delightful 16th-century coaching inn.
The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe
Since opening in 2023, Margot Henderson’s pub has become a destination in its own right.
Go for the flavourful Yorkshire produce. Stay for the inviting interiors.
The Green Barn Restaurant, Co Kildare, Republic of Ireland
For a relaxed luncheon-style affair, head to this farm-to-fork restaurant overlooking its own walled kitchen garden.
This article originally appeared in Red magazine
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