Welcome back to The Nightstand, our quarterly newsletter landing in your inbox for each season change. So here we are with Winter, in all its Christmas-filled magical splendour. We very much hope you’re reading this curled up on the sofa in your nightie, cup of tea (or champagne) in hand, soaking up that glorious no man's land of ‘betwixmas’. And whilst all the presents may be unwrapped, we have one last festive treat for you as for this season’s Pillow Talk we sit down with Charlotte Wood, the genius creative mind behind Polar Post and our collaboration partner - one of the highlights of our year.
Dreamt up by Charlotte almost a decade ago, Polar Post is now known in family homes far and wide as the true ‘magic operator’ of Christmas. Children send off their letters to Father Christmas and with the expert help of Charlotte and her merry team of elves, all letters are personally responded to as if from the big man himself, with no detail spared. As anyone who has received a Polar Post letter knows, this goes far beyond a piece of paper slipped into an envelope. Charlotte’s letters are true works of art, embossed, stamped and lovingly curated with her signature creative touch. They truly are made with an heirloom feel in mind, to be read back and treasured as a Christmas memory for years to come.
So we hope you are settled in and ready to cling onto those last few days of Christmas magic. We’re so grateful that you’re here.
Emily x
What is on your nightstand at this time of year?
Alas me and my nightstand don’t spend a lot of time together at this time of year as I become a creature of the night in the run up to Christmas. However, I am trying to be strict with myself this year and to decompress slightly before I get into bed. To that end I have bought myself one of The Fabled Thread's samplers. I have always had grand ideas about sewing both of my children a sampler to celebrate their births and now that my daughter is nine I feel I'd better get motoring... even if I only put a couple of stitches in before I go to sleep I feel like I've done something for myself and better for it.
What is your Christmas Eve bedtime routine?
A few years ago for one reason or another I just wasn’t feeling the magic on Christmas Eve. I was about to reach for the Bailey’s when I decided instead to bundle everyone up, light lanterns and go for a walk in the dark before bed. The children ran from house to house shouting Merry Christmas into people’s letterboxes and jingling their bells, the owls were out in force hooting and we are sure we caught a glimpse of the Christmas fairy. Needless to say I found the magic and it’s now become a tradition before bedtime on Christmas Eve.
Brand new Christmas Eve nightie or old loved one?
There is something very special about new nightwear at Christmas isn't there?
Your favourite Christmas movie?
It's got to be It's A Wonderful Life.
Favourite winter night cap?
King's Ginger, it's pure Christmas. Particularly wonderful if you can pay a visit to Berry Bros themselves, it's like stepping into a Dickensian Christmas!.
Your favourite childhood Christmas book?
Alison Uttley's Christmas Stories. My mum gave me this book when I started secondary school and lots of my friends were asking questions about Father Christmas. I think it was my mum's way of showing me that there is magic in everything if you look for it.
Which If Only If nightie are you hoping for under the Christmas tree?
Oo it’s a tough one but I think it would have to be the Jessie as it combines two of my greatest loves smocking and gingham…
What is it that makes a nightie really lovely?
A good nightie really has to work hard doesn't it? I like a nightie that gives me all the comfort, soft, light whilst also makes me feel like I'm dressing for the occasion. A good nightie should be romantic with a sense of drama. Not much to ask really is it?
One smell that evokes Christmas is...
The tree. I know they shed their needles all over the place but I am a Norway Spruce girl through and through and it's purely for the smell.
When it comes to bed, nothing feels better than...
An actual mattress. I’ve spent more nights on a camp bed next to a child than I care to admit.
Your one pearl of wisdom for a good nights sleep?
White noise…without it I'm always listening out for a little voice shouting Mummy!
The true magic of Christmas is...
That it makes children of us all.