Nigel Slater's The Christmas Chronicles

[Dillidilly]

I bought this wonderful book for my daughter as part of her Christmas present last year. Then I treated myself to a copy in the spring!
It's a fantastic book, full of stories, photography, poetry and 100 recipes for the Christmas season. As a hardback book with gold foil detailing it would even look gorgeous laid out as part of your Christmas decorations.

Each chapter roughly follows the days leading up to Christmas, and we've decided to read and share our thoughts about each chapter in the run up to Christmas, starting from late November if I remember correctly.

I thought it would be a lovely thing to share with someone you love. Currently £18.29 on Amazon.

Dillidilly, they are beautiful. I think Christmas trees should evolve over the years, so that each decoration holds a memory. We have some decorations from childhood Christmases in the seventies - they're not valuable or even particularly beautiful but every year when we put the tree up they remind me of a very happy childhood. I cannot understand folks who replace their entire Christmas 'theme' every couple of years - Christmas is a very nostalgic time for me, but I realise I'm lucky to be part of a loving family with parents who made Christmas special for us in a very low key, personal way.

Bryony, maybe Nigel will help you create your own low key, lovely family Christmas. Keep Nigel as your muse and ignore the rest of the bollocks

Keep Nigel as your muse and ignore the rest of the bollocks
Love this 😂

What a lovely thread this is! I am having trouble sleeping at the moment so have started listening to the podcast in bed, it is great! Thanks for whoever recommended it!

Because of you lot I now can't find it on Amazon or eBay for less than £20

Wanted to buy it for my mum for Christmas because she'd absolutely love it given all the reviews above.

@reprehensibleme

Dillidilly, they are beautiful. I think Christmas trees should evolve over the years, so that each decoration holds a memory. We have some decorations from childhood Christmases in the seventies - they're not valuable or even particularly beautiful but every year when we put the tree up they remind me of a very happy childhood. I cannot understand folks who replace their entire Christmas 'theme' every couple of years - Christmas is a very nostalgic time for me, but I realise I'm lucky to be part of a loving family with parents who made Christmas special for us in a very low key, personal way.

Bryony, maybe Nigel will help you create your own low key, lovely family Christmas. Keep Nigel as your muse and ignore the rest of the bollocks

So true! My Mum bought a decoration from everywhere she travelled, and then I have the old ones from when she got married, so my tree is a glorious cacophony of colour. (I do rather suspect our muse Nige might be a bit minimalist in his decs but I'm sure he'd forgive me) I also don't get people who buy the whole shebang every year. No, no no.

One day I will have one of those sets of Cinderella carriage lights that my gran had. (on eBay for about £300 a string )

Thanks for the recommendation @Dillidilly My Amazon account thanks you but my bank balance is crying into it's cups

@Dillidilly beautiful decorations, reminds me of this passage from The Children of Green Knowe

"It was late afternoon before they finished the Christmas tree, and it was growing dark. They lit the old red Chinese lantern and many candles so that they could see to work. There were no glaring electric bulbs on this tree. Mrs Oldknow had boxes of coloured glass ornaments, each wrapped separately in tissue paper and put carefully away from year to year. Some were very old and precious indeed. There were glass balls, stars, fir-cones, acorns and bells in all colours and all sizes. There were also silver medallions of angels. Of course the most beautiful star was fixed at the very top, with gold and silver suns and stars beneath and around it. Each glass treasure, as light as an eggshell and as brittle, was hung on a loop of black cotton that had to be coaxed over the prickly fingers of the tree. Tolly took them carefully out of their tissue paper and Mrs Oldknow hung them up. The tiny glass bell-clappers tinkled when a branch was touched. When it was all finished, there were no lights on the tree itself , but the candles in the room were reflected in each glass bauble on it, and seemed in those soft deep colours to be shining from an immense distance away, as if the tree were a cloudy night sky full of stars. They sat down together to look at their work. Tolly thought it so beautiful he could say nothing , he could hardly believe his eyes."

Rubaiyat - perfect.

I love this thread...

@GreyhoundG1rl me too!

@Oblomov21 there's second hand copies on Abebooks for approximately £10 plus p&p

Thank you Woolly, I'll take a look.

I think Christmas trees should evolve over the years, so that each decoration holds a memory.

I completely agree. Our tree is a mix of decorations bought on holiday, passed down from family members now departed and terrible ones the DC made at nursery. It probably looks a state to other more tasteful people but I absolutely love it.

Just bought a copy, thank you! It sounds right up my street.

I love this book and Nigel slater generally. It would be great to do a read along in November to help stop me getting caught up in the madness of Christmas shopping etc

@reprehensibleme our real tree positively groans under the weight of all our decorations which have been collected down through the years, we buy at least one or two new ones every year, at the top we have a decoration with a photo of my late sister who adored Christmas and was born in December and died in December. I don't like boring theme coloured structured trees !

What a gorgeous thread. I love Nigel and love Christmas and have definitely found my people here. Christmas for me is cosy jumpers and socks, twinkling lights and candles and a tree which is a record of our life with a new decoration added every year - either something we've picked up on travels or something which represents a highlight of the year in some way.

I was lucky enough to go to a signing of The Christmas Chronicles when it was released, so I got to meet Nigel and my signed copy of the book is one of my most treasured possessions. I told him how much I love his style of writing and can get swept away with his descriptions of food. I'm sure loads of people have said the same to him over the years but he honestly reacted as if I was the first person to ever pay him a compliment. Seemed genuinely touched and told me how much that meant to him. I told him how much I live Christmas and winter and how I was so looking forward to reading the book. He told me that he had enjoyed writing this one more than any other book. I think that definitely comes through! I could have chatted to him for ages but was moved on by Waterstones staff . Such a lovely person and the book is everything I hoped for and more.

Like others, I now read it throughout November- January as a new part of Christmas traditions.

I got a copy for £9.83 for my mum.

Oh I must read this! It sounds perfect. Oblomov where did you manage to get it?

My copy should arrive next week

I'm a huge beleiver in Christmas Traditions that evolve with your family but also enveloping traditions from your childhood (of any ) and carrying them on.

Christmas when I was a child was very different , partly because it was much lower key anyway but mainly because my DMum didn't like any of the work involved so did no decorations , meal on Christas Day ( roast chicken and vegetables but not what you;'d call a full Christmas Dinner ) We got presents but I always felt jealous of friends who did more .
Of course once I started cooking (Christmas Dinner and mince pies , biscuits ) DMum basically handed it all over to me .
Her phrases were "I wish it was Boxing Day and all over " and "I wish I could go to sleep and wake up after New Years Day"
Not because she was rushed off her feet , she just CBA

My own DC , we started little things -watching TV shows , Barney Christmas anyone . Chooshing a new decoration with the DC each year . Taking them out to see the lights . Pantomime , cinema .

I love the candles , lights , cosy pyjamas . Throws on the sofa, Christmas cushions , Christmas Bedding .
I'm sure Nigel Slater will have a secret Christmas Cupboard with plates (I have Portmerion, Spode and The Snowman- not full sets , just random ones ) and special foods like spices , decorations for cakes .

I think this year I'll spread the nice foods out over December . I'm always inspired by those cheeesy Hallmark films where they make cookies , cupcakes , hot chocolate . (I don't like cupcakes but I make a pretty good batch of chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns )
I just don't want to eat it all in 36 hours !

This is such a lovely thread.
Nigel would be so chuffed I think. He seems like such a nice guy.
Does anyone have any of his other books? Is there lots of lovely writing?

@Geamhradh

This is such a lovely thread. Nigel would be so chuffed I think. He seems like such a nice guy. Does anyone have any of his other books? Is there lots of lovely writing?

He’s a lovely writer @Geamhradh I have a few of his kitchen diaries and love them.

In one volume (3 I think) his description of New Year’s Day morning is poignant it made me leaky eyed the first time I read it.

Ooh. Off to look for those. Thank you!

Geamhradh, I've just been sitting in the garden reading the July sections of Kitchen Diaries 1 and 2 (I also like reading Delia Smith's Summer and Autumn collections at the appropriate time and the aforementioned Susan Branch Summer and Autumn books.

I will definitely start a read along thread at the end of October, to give us all time to find our copies of The Christmas Chronicles, a seasonal candle, a throw and a cosy space where we can settle down to open the first page ❤