How to create magic ✨

Simple ways to bring wonder and sparkle this winter.

Photo by C Boyd on Unsplash

Hello and a happy weekend to you,

Are you ready to create some magic? ✨

The dark mornings are still feeling cosy as I switch on our kitchen fairy lights, make myself a cup of hot coffee and put pen to paper. Sometimes I go back to bed depending on what the girls are doing, sometimes I sit on the sofa, the sound of Bluey or Paw Patrol drifting across and interrupting my line of thought. That’s okay. It dawned on me recently, in a couple of short years children’s TV will be a thing of the past and personally I’m not ready for that to end. I know many think this strange, but I write children’s stories and have found myself locked in this childhood stage that I’m not ready to let go. I’m not ready for the next stage, the teenage years.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a hot chocolate and scone out with mum, dad and my youngest daughter, Lily. The conversation turned, as it often does at this time of year, to Christmas. Through discussion, I was aware that one day I won’t have to creep around at midnight on Christmas Eve pretending to be Father Christmas. We won’t leave out carrots, mince pies and stockings. How sad is that? I might still encourage the tradition, but I’m not sure how teenage children will feel about that?

This year, I am embracing the small moments that make this coming season MAGICAL ✨

But I am also doing this while keeping the calm, enjoyment and fun for us grown ups, as well as the children.

Below are some journal prompts for you, to help you think ahead about what you want your winter to look like. List making, batch cooking and “getting ahead” with all that Christmas prep.

Magical days out and experiences.

What can you do to make something ordinary, like a walk in the woods, seem more magical without spending a fortune? Take a flask of hot chocolate and a pocket full of marshmallows to enjoy on your walk. Sprinkle reindeer food (bird seed) on the woodland floor. Hang some decorations on a bushy tree for others to enjoy the magic.

These magical moments are there for you to create and don’t need to be big or extravagant. You don’t need to take photos to share on social media. Just enjoy the moment, create some wonderful memories and maybe start a new family tradition?

I also really recommend you listening to this podcast by

Beth Kempton

, and I encourage you to listen to the trailer episode first. Beth has written a really beautiful and powerful poem that I think will resinate with a lot of you 🫶