Dear Father Christmas… (or what I want in my stocking)

This is my fantasy stocking. I’ve already done a post on gifts for bakers, and one more general one, but this one is ALL about me. (It could well be an insight into my soul. Worrying).

I have three sons so essentially I want this necklace above in a kind of bragging type way. Three peas to represent each of my little men in the making. Then everytime I find myself sighing at the amount of ugly plastic crap in the house I will carefully and gently feel the peas and imagine living in a house with only wooden toys and crocheted blankets. It’s reassuringly expensive. £110 and you can buy it here.

I like all gin to be honest, even some of the less, ahem, refined gins. But this one, I love. It’s £23.99 and you can buy it here from Waitrose. For some reason I feel like I’m in Downton when I drink it. Go figure.

I love these socks. They have a very middle class price tag of £15, but it being Christmas and this a fantasy list I don’t care. They’re on the list and in my dreams, on my cold feet. You can buy them here from John Lewis if you like foxy things.

I adore Lady Grey. It’s a little less harsh than Earl Grey and more citrus-y. I drink it with milk. You can buy it in a nice tea gift box thingy here from Twinings.

I know not everyone likes the idea of a chicken brick in their stocking, but reader, I do. Yes, it’s weighty, but imagine how tender your chicken would be. Swoon. It’s down to £20 now at Habitat – you can buy it here.

I love navy. It’s hugely underrated and for those of us over 35 is also more flattering next to the face than black. (Not that I can get my feet anywhere near my face these days, though you probably didn’t want to know that). Anyway – I have fallen back in love with Clarks after a few years of being not so bothered with their wares. These shoes look comfy and my, do I like to be comfy whilst being very tall. You can buy them here for £50. I also think the nice cut out bit around the toe area is a bit like the shoes my Nanna wore in the early 80’s. Or do I have false memory syndrome?

It’s almost Christmas and whilst I am clearly not baby Jesus, I would like some frankincense in my stocking. This facial mist would definitely get me in the mood for a BBC nativity tale. You can buy it here from Neal’s Yard for £11.50.

Look at this picture, I mean seriously, just look at it. You’d have to be made of stone to not want to jump right into it, mulled wine in hand, furry snow boots cuddling your toes, maybe a gilet too. It’s perfect! The lights are not as twee as most fairy style Xmas lights so I want them very much. They’re £65, but think… you would use them for the next 65 (?) years… only £1/year. Hmmm. Okay, well this is my list and I want them. You can buy them here from The White Company.

This is a bedroom at Babington House. I stayed there once as part of a talk I did about the Bake Off. It was beyond amazing. The room, the grounds, the cocktails, the dining room and oh my, the breakfast! Incredibly relaxing. Sadly we did not see any A list types under the influence of class A’s. We so wanted to have some gossip to come home with, but no, it was all very respectable. So a whole weekend at Babington in my stocking please. (With maybe Kate Moss and co staying too that weekend).

I saved the best until last. Even at my thinnest (a size 8! yes – me! shocking, I know) I have always had a thick waist. It’s just the way I am made. So if I did ever want a nipped in waist I’d need to employ a corset. I have a feeling I don’t have the discipline for wearing one, but as this is a dream list then the above ‘sophia’ corset from What Katie Did will be in my stocking. In black, just because I am feeling wholly impractical. It’s £139.50, which is, according to my research, actually not bad for a corset.

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