Creativity at Christmas

My Mum has always said she finds it really hard to be creative at Christmas.  Ever since I've been quite small she's had me decorating the cake, adoring the tree and asked me to help her think of ideas for presents (and then wrapping them).  She's amazingly creative at other times of the year.  At nearly 80 she still does her own DIY, (including the woodwork), writes church services and she's an amazing seamstress, but somehow her creativity isn't quite so evident approaching Christmas.

It's only since becoming an adult that I've understood why.  You have to have time and space for creativity, and the run up to Christmas in our family is always incredibly busy.   At this time of year, there are just so many things that need doing, lots of 'to do lists' whizzing around our heads and perhaps not enough time and space in our heads for creative thinking.

If e give ourselves time and space to get absorbed in creative pursuits, it allows us to forget the more mundane and bothersome aspects of our busy lives.   It allows us to express who we are, and to feel good about ourselves.  My favourite kind of creativity is the kind where you make small gifts without expecting anything in return.  Doing this spreads happiness within us and further afield.   Christmas seems the perfect time of year for it, so I'm concentrating on setting aside time and space.

I hope over the Christmas break you find some time and space to be creative in whichever way makes you feel positive about yourself, and that this helps you to feel rejuvenated ahead of 2022.

With very best wishes for the Christmas Season,

Bryony Landsbert
Educational Psychologist for the Didcot Area Partnership of Schools and a Governor at Sutton Courtenay Primary School.