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CHRISTMAS WITH…CELEBRATED CREATORS
How does wellness expert Peigín Crowley stay calm during the holidays, what is acclaimed chocolatier Gráinne Mullins’ favourite festive treat? From treasured traditions to best and worst gifts, we’ve spoken to some of Ireland’s most inspiring creatives to find out how they do Christmas…
GRÁINNE MULLINS, FOUNDER GRÁ CHOCOLATES
Q: FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MEMORY?
A: “I have always loved the preparation for Christmas. Baking with my mum in the kitchen and planning the Christmas Day menu has always been my favourite part of our celebrations. I always remember the days of me being a kid and going to choose our Christmas tree and bringing it home to decorate.”
Q: HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON?
A: “As you can probably imagine my preparation revolves heavily around food! Because it’s the busiest time for Grá Chocolates, I have to ensure that I am well prepared and have all my gifts bought in time. The week before Christmas I always make sure I have our Christmas Menu fully decided, then it’s the fun part of buying all of the delicious ingredients that will come together to make one of my favourite meals of the year. I spend Christmas Eve in the kitchen with my mum and we prepare as much as possible, from the chicken liver pate to the ham and everything else in between. We make as much as we can in advance to make Christmas Day as easy as possible - we are one of those families that don’t do anything except eat for the entire day!”
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTING GO-TO’S?
A: “Our Grá Chocolate Baubles are definitely my gifting go-to! There is a flavour for everyone and they are the perfect stocking filler! For the kiddies, I love to give them our Hot Chocolate and it always goes down a treat.”
Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS?
A: “One of my favourite Christmas traditions was throwing our letters to Santa into our open fire (with parental supervision, of course!). The elves were waiting at the top of the chimney to bring the letter straight to Santa. Also, while making our Christmas cake and Pudding my mum would let all of us mix the batter and make a wish! Christmas is truly such a magical time of year.”
Q: WHAT’S THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
A: “I remember getting a wooden play kitchen with real mini pots, pans and cake tins. Although I got a lot of value out of using them in my play kitchen, because they were real tins, I had many years of using them in the real oven making delicious cakes, biscuits and bread.”
SHOP GRÁINNE’S CHRISTMAS WISHLIST…
LUCY HAGERTY, FOUNDER LA BOUGIE
Q: WHERE WILL YOU BE SPENDING THE FESTIVE SEASON THIS YEAR?
A: “We will be in the Caribbean with all 18 of my family. This is a family tradition as we all live all over the world. So grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all congregate in London and fly off to the sunshine. We have never spent Christmas at home and the children from a young age always wondered why Santa wore big furry boots and not flip flops!”
Q: FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MEMORY?
A: “It was last year when I finally got to hug my parents after 2 years. They live in Tuscany and couldn’t leave during the pandemic. They are in their seventies and although we talked to them on FaceTime every few days, we missed being together. I burst into tears!”
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTING GO-TO’S?
A: “I always give a Mission Fig candle and diffuser in one of our beautiful gift boxes. I don’t think anything says I love you more than a box with a big grosgrain ribbon containing our iconic fragrance. This year we have a new limited edition Christmas candle called Nordman Fir so I might pop one of these into the box too. My two favourite Christmas fragrances are important notes in this magical candle; a Christmas tree and Christmas pudding. It really is very special.”
Q: WHAT’S THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
A: “A La Bougie candle by someone who obviously had no idea what I did for a living!”
Q: …AND THE WORST?
A: “My husband thought early on in our marriage that because I was a chef, I must love saucepans. He only did this once….. !”
SHOP LUCY’S CHRISTMAS WISHLIST…
PEIGÍN CROWLEY, FOUNDER GROUND
Q: WHERE WILL YOU BE SPENDING THE FESTIVE SEASON THIS YEAR?
A: “My family and I spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in my home. Then, we go over to my Mum's for the best dinner of the year. I will help with the potatoes but beyond that, I will be happily sipping on a glass of Cava all day long!”
Q: FAVOURITE THING ABOUT CHRISTMAS?
A: “I love gifting, and even in GROUND, gifting wellness has become the biggest part of our business. I always try to find something special that I've thought about and know the person will appreciate. I think it's beyond kind to really think outside the box for people and sure, you can put yourself under pressure, but it's worth it! Before, I used to look for 'things', but after COVID, I now look for experiences. Time together, connected time with people, that’s what is most special. If I'm buying a gift for my friend, I'll buy Afternoon Tea for two at The Shelbourne, and invite myself along, of course!”
Q: MOST TREASURED TRADITION?
A: “Christmas Eve is punctuated with beautiful traditions, in terms of mass, and the return after mass where the elf disappears and it suddenly feels like magic is descending, and we track Santa's journey. We all get new pyjamas, our beds have fresh bed linen on them, we have special hot chocolate, and leave out something for Santa and Rudolph. It really is such a special night when no one would dare disturb you or call to the door. I always do what my mother did and ask my girls ‘How do you think you have done this year, do you think he'll come with gifts?!’”
Q: WHAT'S THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
A: “The most beautiful surprise under the tree for me, all wrapped up in brown paper about four years ago, was a painting that I had admired for about ten to fifteen years in my Dad's wife's home (Vera Ryan, who's an art historian). Vera has the most beautiful collection of art, and while she has hundreds of incredible pieces of art around her home, this painting really connected with me. It's ‘Clothes on a Washing Line’ by Niamh O'Neill, a brilliant Cork artist. I would make jokes like "oh please leave that in the will for me!" because I loved it so much. So to open up that under the tree for me was magic, really magic. Thank you, Vera, always.”
Q: …AND THE WORST?
A: “I've actually had loads! I won’t name names because I’ll get in trouble but as someone who blends oils, makes products, and uses ingredients of the highest quality, when I'm gifted cosmetics and products, I'm so fussy. People think that because I'm in the cosmetics industry, they’re the perfect thing to gift me - it absolutely isn't, I'm so particular! So I usually end up re-gifting those…”
SHOP PEIGÍN’S CHRISTMAS WISHLIST…
CIARA O’NEILL, ARTIST
Q: WHERE WILL YOU BE SPENDING THE FESTIVE SEASON THIS YEAR?
A: “Christmas is my favourite time of the year! This year myself and Rio (my dog) will be spending the day in my parents' house with my mam, dad and my two brothers. Oh! And my brother's dog, Figo.”
Q: FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MEMORY?
A: “My favourite Christmas memory is when I was 5, I got a pretty big wooden doll house. I was so excited and went to play with it right away but the paint on the roof was wet! I later found out my Dad had made the doll house and had only just finished painting it the night before. Looking back, it was so special because it was handmade by my Dad, I actually still have it today!”
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTING GO-TO’S?
A: “I buy nearly all of my gifts online and I’ve already started pretty early this year because work takes up most of my time in the build-up to Christmas. I left it too late last year so I won't be making that mistake again! I love to support Irish businesses, especially at Christmastime. I follow a lot of these on Instagram and love seeing what's coming out. My favourites recently are: Grá Chocolates, FRKL jewellery and Brown Thomas - the Marvel room has a brilliant selection for gifts.”
Q: WHAT’S THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
A: “The best Christmas gift I've ever received was a ticket to see The Frames at the Galway Arts Festival. The Frames are brilliant live so I was so excited to get this ticket.”
Q: …AND THE WORST?
A: “The worst funnily enough was from the same person who gifted me the best gift:, my older brother! When I was around 9, he put a huge heavy box under the tree for me. I was so excited to open it Christmas morning only to find it full of encyclopedia books to weigh it down. I had to take out all the books to find a Bart Simpson doll!”
SHOP CIARA’S CHRISTMAS WISHLIST…
MARGARET URBANOWICZ, FOUNDER SÓMAS
Q: FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MEMORY?
A: “Definitely Christmas at my grandma’s house when I was about 7 or 8. It was snowing and we actually all got snowed in which made the day kind of magical! It was a day full of laughter and apple pie – which was my grandma’s secret recipe and I still dream of it every Christmas!”
Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS?
A: “I was brought up with some European Christmas traditions and my favourite one which I still celebrate is St. Nicholas Day on December 6 where we exchange small, symbolic gifts. It’s a little nostalgic tradition that warms my heart.”
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTING GO-TO’S?
A: “My go-to’s for gifting are cashmere sweaters, satin pyjamas and candles of course! I love gifting our Nollaig candle, it’s a beautiful blend of pine, cedarwood and musk and to me, it perfectly captures the Christmas ambience. I love the excitement on people’s faces when they try it for the first time! Our Driftwood and Sea Salt Candle and Diffuser are also huge crowd pleasers.”
Q: WHAT’S THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
A: “A trip to Paris! Winter in Paris is so magical I loved it.”
Q: …AND THE WORST?
A: “I’m normally delighted with everything so I can’t think of anything particularly bad…I suppose a bag of coal when I was small?”
SHOP MARGARET’S CHRISTMAS WISHLIST…
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