Christmas lights bring on the spirit of the festive season

Christmas lights in London's Oxford Street (above) and
Regent Street (below).
Photos by Lucia Carpio for MyFashionConnectGlobal.

Wonderful to see the Spirit of Christmas returns to London, marking the start of this year's festive season. 

Christmas lights high above Oxford Street and Regent Street bring a hopeful atmosphere to the capital during these challenging times.

"The Spirit of Christmas" scheme returns to London's west end this year, marking the start of the festive season.  The lights are lit from 13 November 2021 until 2 January 2022, with the displays switched on from 2pm to
 midnight everyday for a more sustainable display.

While it is high time we start preparing our Christmas shopping list for friends and loved ones, it is time also to start planning to create that festive spirit home.

At TEXTURED LIVES, founder and interior textile designer Jo McEwan is creating a warm, casual look for Christmas. Keeping with a philosophy that our homes are our sanctuary, she curates an alternative brand that celebrates products that flow effortlessly, creating a calm and comfortable environment in the process.

TEXTURED LIVES  creates a cozy Christmas lifestyle with double faced Charcol throws, Tabia rustic tea lights, Lua green vase, Tabia rustic lights, Abeeko wine glass (set of 4), Fern candle, Kamille embroidery cushion and Mala embroidery cushion.

“I wanted to create a lifestyle experience that brought together beautiful homeware products and my own range of personally designed soft furnishings. My dream is to empower my customers to curate their own beautiful spaces with the reassurance that whatever they choose has been personally and consciously selected or designed. Respect for individuality is of paramount importance to Textured Lives which is why nothing is mass produced and we celebrate organic, not prescriptive." said designer Jo McEwan.

Simple additions like cashmere and merino wool throws, antique brass lanterns, rustic tea lights, real moss candles and velvet cushions can make that subtle difference, said Jo. Even adding a tea light or two and a Christmas vase into the bedroom can give us a snuggly new feel for the Christmas period.

Another way to add a Christmas spirit to our interiors is the creative use of candles.

Now artisan candlemakers Cockles and Heart is releasing  its limited edition Christmas candles this week; many of the vintage candles in the Devon company’s gold, frankincense and myrrh range are one-off pieces or available in runs of just 6 candles.

Deep Red Bowl Candle (11.5cm diametre) by Cockles and Heart.
Candle consists of 300ml coconut, rapeseed and extra virgin beeswax;
frankincense, ylang ylang, oregano and lime essential oils;
hand decorated with lavender;
and two pure cotton/linen blend wicks.  Burn time 45 hours

“For Christmas we’ve blended premium oils such as frankincense and myrrh with golden orange, cassia and cardamom to make delicious aromatic candles” says Shona Duncan of Cockles and Heart.  

“To give things a real Christmassy vibe, we’ve specially sourced some fabulous red and gold vintage containers. Many are genuine one-off pieces and when they are sold, they won’t be repeated.”

Cockles and Heart hand pours and individually decorates its candles using a bespoke wax blend infused with pure essential oils.  Its Christmas range features frankincense and  myrrh essential oils and gold and red vintage and upcycled containers.

Spode Songbird Antique candle by Cockles and Heart.
This Spode Cup is over 200 years old and was highly decorated in gold. 
The candle consists of 150ml coconut, rapeseed and extra virgin beeswax; cedarwood, ylang ylang, and bergamot essential oils; hand decorated with rose petals and three pure cotton/linen blend wicks. Burn time 30+ hours

Cockles and Heart sells its candles online  and at Rebel Rebel’s Mare Street Market Shop, London E8, at the Bowie Gallery in Totnes South Devon, UK.