The Simple Things is a beautiful, useful, quirky and fun magazine about taking time to live well. We cover mindfulness and microadventures, eating and growing, forgotten wisdom, home life and slow moments. It's for people who love their lives but want to take the pressure off and remember what’s really important. We like tea & cake, learning stuff, being outside and the satisfaction of a job well done. Do you?

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A Christmas could-do list • Leave an anonymous present on a friend’s doorstep

It’s crispmas! • COCKTAILS AND NIBBLES AREN’T JUST FOR PARTIES. A BOWL OF SNACKS AT YOUR ELBOW AND A GOOD HELPING OF GIN-EROSITY WHILE YOU WRITE CARDS ARE ESSENTIAL

December Almanac

Christmas spider

December • Here are a few suggestions for things to read, make, hear and do this month. Pick and choose the ones you fancy, do all of them or just enjoy reading and do none of them!

Beyond the mince pie

A wish for Christmas Yet To Come

CAKE IN THE HOUSE • Ta da! An indulgent spiced chocolate cake, topped with sugared cranberries, that tastes as good as it looks.

My day in cups of tea • We asked foodie writer Lucy Brazier to tell us all about how she spends her day in cuppas (and a few festive tipples, too…)

A simple thing...

ECO-SAVVY STYLING

Excellent women • Mum and daughter duo tackle childhood poverty

Dance your cares away • THE SOUTH AFRICAN SONG THAT’S UNITED THE WORLD IN RHYTHM AND HOPE

SMALL CHANGE

GOOD FIGURES • Where statistics and optimism meet

WHAT I TREASURE • My dressing-up bag

BAUBLES YOU CAN EAT • THESE BISCUITS ARE MORE THAN A TREAT FOR YOUR FAMILY (INCLUDING THE DOG), THEY’LL ALSO LOOK CUTE HANGING ON YOUR TREE

The people who make Christmas • AS PREPARATIONS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON ARE UNDERWAY, HEAR FROM THOSE WHO WORK TO HELP BRING THE MAGIC

MY CITY* OSLO • SNOWY STREETS, FROZEN LAKES AND CINNAMON BUNS... THERESE ELSTAD SHOWS US WINTER IN NORWAY’S CAPITAL

THERESE’S PERSONAL TOUR

Zen Christmas

Piecing it all together • ABSORBING YOURSELF IN A JIGSAW PUZZLE GIVES YOU QUIET TIME WHEN ALL AROUND IS BUSY, SAYS REBECCA FRANK

Properly good puzzles • If a good jigsaw feels like the missing piece in your life, here are some of the most aesthetically-pleasing puzzles.

The night before Christmas… • GET THE WRAPPING OUT OF THE WAY EARLY AND HAVE A GROWN-UP EVENING TO GET INTO THE FESTIVE SPIRIT

WINES FOR FEASTING

TO MAKE A SMALLER WREATH WITHOUT A RING MOULD

Snow on snow • Every culture has its own word for the mesmerising flakes that fall from the sky. From Iceland to Hawaii, snow may be welcomed, feared, played with or prized. And the words to describe it are clues to how this magical phenomenon is viewed

The spirit of silly • IT’S THE SEASON TO BE SILLY AND EVEN IF IT’S A QUIETER AFFAIR THIS YEAR THERE’S NO REASON TO PARE BACK THE PLAYFULNESS

Parlour games

BUMPER Miscellany • The practical and the playful with extra seasonal silliness

Trio TEA TOWELS • Something pretty to distract from all the washing up

SPOILER ALERT! PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

The story of songs

A clever idea • A space for reflection, amid the decoration

Christmas dinner • Hampered by ham? Stumped by the spuds? Don’t let that get in the way of a good meal. Our guide can help you successfully navigate your way around the festive feast

Around the world in Christmas meals • You’ll just need to borrow Father Christmas’s sleigh to get round in time to eat them all

A simple thing...

Rethinking sprouts • TAKE THE SPROUTS OFF THE SIDELINES WITH THESE CLEVER IDEAS THAT MAY WELL TEMPT EVEN THE MOST HARDENED...