Login

Witch Weekly · November 24, 2019 – 8:24 PM

Witch Weekly’s Guide to A Wonderful Winter

Autumn is in the air now, but the Christmas season is just around the corner! After by all accounts a quiet season, we at Witch Weekly hope to see an unforgettable festive season filled with all the parties, presents, passions and pleasures one could imagine, and see the end of the 1880s out in style. How might one make this a winter to remember? Below are more tricks and treats than in a Christmas cracker!

Deck the Halls! Don’t leave the festive decorating to your servants, dear: having an eye for a marvellous display sets the best hostess apart. You can gather holly and hang wreaths, or even make a party of it with the ladies: handcraft some Christmas cards, ornaments and homemade presents; eat some mince pies and plum pudding; festoon the places with some ribboned mistletoe (and discover just who each lady is quietly hoping to meet under it while you’re at it).

Mystery Gifts! Names having been drawn from a hat, one must secretly find the perfect gift for the chosen person without anyone knowing which name one has. Leave a cryptic note attached, or no clues at all. During the holidays, all the mystery gifts are unwrapped - this is a scheme that works equally well with shop-bought items or handmade offerings, and the recipient trying to guess who their Christmas angel is makes the gift-exchanging twice the thrill!

Play a parlour game! The holidays are the perfect time to get one’s family or friends together, and there is no better way to liven up an evening in front of the fire than playing a parlour game or two. Try “The Sculptor”, in which the nominated “sculptor” must go about putting the rest of the guests in awkward poses, all of whom must keep still while he or she frolics among them. The first to laugh or surrender their pose loses and must forfeit! (Possible forfeits include having to offer compliments to someone or having to go about kissing every lady or gentleman in the room!)

Speed Skating Championships! Ice-skating has long been the fashion at all the winter events, but round up your sporting young gentlemen to make a newfangled spectacle. The Dutch are doing it in earnest - this year marks the first official “world championship” held there! Far too dangerous for a young lady, this type of rather more ruthless skating sees a course set over a certain stretch of ice, and plenty of fun in wagering on who will be the “last man standing!”

Put on a play! Gather up your children for a magical nativity scene, or add a little fun to your dinner parties by hosting a theatrical extravaganza after pudding. One need not be a veteran of the stage (indeed, how crass!) to prance about in costumes for one evening and put together a scene or two for a special occasion. Not only can it be a great laugh, it will force the most retiring crabs in the room to be prodded out of their shells, which is perhaps the greatest Christmas gift they could be given.

Spread the festive cheer to the streets! Don’t be a regular Scrooge, and instead arrange to involve your social circles in a spot of charity. There’s no better time. There are poor children shivering on the streets, parents out of work and suffering from illnesses in the harsh cold. Hand out oranges or visit a soup-kitchen, or put your sweet singing voice to some use and organize a carol evening to raise a pretty penny.

Throw a winter ball with a twist! One might give a festive costume theme to inspire attire, like “red and gold” or “gingerbread and sugarplums”. Why not try something more outlandish for one’s setting, like a snowflake dance set out-of-doors (don’t forget the forest trails, sleigh rides and warming spells!), a party with rooms of “Christmas Past” and “Christmas Future” - or perhaps 24 Advent Doors, if you’re feeling ambitious - or even a Night of the Living Toys, where instead of punch, all the guests might drink a Shrinking Solution at the door and shrink to the size of toys. See giant Christmas trees, toy train sets and the ballroom floor from an entirely new perspective - but make sure to return your guests to size before they leave, or it will be a winter to remember... for all the wrong reasons!

Get Featured in Witch Weekly! | Submit an article!

PMs on this account will not be checked.
Please contact a member of the Wench team for more information:
MJ | Lynn | Olive | Kit | Dante

Welcome to Charming

Issue #221 - Witch Weekly's Guide To A Wonderful Winter