It’s a languid almost-week of non-holiday holidays where a lot of people still have to work, even though it feels almost unnatural.
The time is so notably different from the rest of the year that Norway even has a word for it — romjul, aka a time to spend with friends and family. As always, we have you covered with a list of ways to help fill your time.
VISIT THIS Christmas at Kew
It’s been completely sold out all festive season, but we’ve just got the heads up that there are still tickets available for Christmas At Kew in January (until the 8th)! This magical light trail is about 2.7km long and can take around two hours to walk around while stopping for refreshments and seeing all the attractions like Father Christmas, the retro fairground with lots of rides for little ones, and two firepits for toasting marshmallows. The route winds its way around some of the 12,000 trees and other botanical treasures in the Gardens, and you will wander beneath colourful canopies, futuristic neon trees and branches illuminated with stars. At the end, expect an incredible light show dancing across the giant fountains set to music – a fitting tribute to the ten-year anniversary of the event.
STREAM THIS Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
This month marks the highly-anticipated return of Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in the sequel of 2019 hit mystery comedy film Knives Out. Glass Onion is yet another thrilling murder mystery with Blanc on the case, this time revolving around tech billionaire Mile Bron (Edward Norton) and his friends, whom he has invited to his private Greek island for a remote getaway that quickly sours from paradise to nightmare when someone turns up dead. The Knives Out sequel takes its name from a song from The Beatles, rather cleverly. And just as ‘Glass Onion’ is a Beatles song about the songs the Beatles sang, Glass Onion is a murder mystery about murder mysteries. Like Knives Out, it picks apart some of the genre’s most hack moves: the secret twin, a faked death, and, most of all, the evil mastermind with an eye for culture. With a list of celebrity and rather poignant cameos including Angela Lansbury popping up on a video call with Benoit Blanc and iconic composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim also making a moving posthumous appearance in Glass Onion, also during the video chat scene, it’s a rather nice Christmas gift from Netflix.
TRY THIS Duolab Skincare
There really is no one-size-fits-all skincare. From the company behind the French beauty brand L’Occitane comes DUOLAB, allowing you to create your own targeted face cream, thus customising your beauty routine specifically to you. And it makes sense! Given that our skin is the body’s largest organ with a four-week turnover rate, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all-cream. Your skin feels different from morning to night, dependent on hormones, or stress from environmental factors, DUOLAB gives you your own skincare laboratory at home by allowing you to mix and match a range of moisturising base layers and concentrated ingredients in one. Simply choose a capsule of your preferred base – a Melting Cream to nourish and plump; a Light Cream for day or a Night Cream that will plump and de-stress skin when it needs an extra boost. Add to that a concentrated, targeted top layer such as hydrating hyaluronic acid or brightening vitamin C to pack in exactly what your skin is craving on any given day. Giving you 20 possible combinations to work with, satiate your skin as it desires every single day. Whatever better skill to master during these few days before 2023 kicks off.
WATCH THIS One Woman Show
Following rave reviews and a sold-out run, Liz Kingsman’s hilarious One Woman Show is now back in London’s West End at the Ambassadors Theatre. A dazzling mix of parody, sarcasm and spoof, the show promises an interval-free 70 minutes of pure comedy that’s the perfect antidote to the January blues. Kingsman wrote the monologue herself, in which she plays an aspiring actor filming her solo set, entitled Wildfowl, to send to a television commissioner. It’s a clever re-assessment of the Fleabag-style ‘messy woman’ trope and every line is perfectly pitched to great effect. If you don’t want to miss out on tickets this time round, you’d better be quick – she’s only treading the boards for a limited number of weeks until the 21st, so grab your partner or a best pal for a mood-boosting Dry January date night.
BOOK THIS Cowdray Estate, West Sussex
If your holiday plans include travelling with an entourage – we’re talking family, friends, children – Cowdray House, an idyllic country home in West Sussex available for exclusive hire and glamorous go-to. Alongside 22 beautifully decorated bedrooms, there is a ten-pin bowling alley, a billiards-room, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and a banqueting hall for dining in style. Afterwards, borrow a pair of wellies from the boot-room and go for a scenic stroll around the expansive Capability Brown-landscaped grounds.
Any Questions or Tips to add?