Your festive season survival guide

It’s almost that time of year again – where we drag out our decorations, pop up the Christmas tree and start experiencing that festive feeling.

Holiday songs seem to ring on repeat in every store we enter and for many of us, the festive planning goes into overdrive right about now. So, to help you navigate the silly season with ease, we’ve collated some of our favourite festivities to help you on your way.

We hope it inspires and delights in equal measure…

EAT

Planning your Christmas menu can be stressful, especially if you’re hosting family and friends with a variety of dietary preferences. But the key to success is to keep things simple and fresh. While a roast ham, turkey or piece of fish is often the centrepiece – a show stopping salad – like this delicious Fig and Pecorino beauty by Ottolenghi – can be the perfect accompaniment. We’re spoiled for fresh seasonal produce here in Australia, so get creative and don’t be afraid to pair beautiful fruits with leafy greens, herbs, nuts and seeds. 

BAKE

Not that we ever needed an excuse to enjoy a bout of baking – but there’s just something about Christmas baking which is next level delicious. And the epitome of festive treats? Gingerbread. If you’re looking for the perfect recipe, one of our favourites is from Sarah at Our Nourishing Table. View the recipe below and get baking!

GLUTEN-FREE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Dry Ingredients

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup almond meal natural or blanched
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger ground
• 1/4 tsp cardamom ground
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg ground
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum optional

Wet Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup macadamia oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC.
2. In a large mixing bowl add all of the dry ingredients. Mix together until well combined.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, coconut nectar syrup and macadamia oil.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until well combined.
5. Sprinkle a generous amount of buckwheat flour onto a clean benchtop and onto a rolling pin. Turn gingerbread mixture out onto benchtop and pat into a ball. Roll the mixture out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into circles and place onto baking tray.
6. Roll remaining mixture into a ball and repeat the previous step until all mixture has been cut into cookies. Be sure to re-flour the benchtop and rolling pin.
7. Place tray of cookies into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Allow to cool before eating and storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

DRINK

While the bubbly flows throughout the festive season, keep your skin and health in check by balancing out the booze with a few flirty mocktails. Simply select your favourite LAMAV Organic Beauty Tea and serve over ice with fresh herbs and rose petals. Try our Age Defence tea with a squeeze of lemon juice, a handful of fresh raspberries and a sprig of rosemary – served over ice, this blend is as good for your skin as it is for your belly.

READ

For many of us, the festive season is not only about eating, drinking and being merry – it’s also often the only opportunity during the year to really sit back and relax with a good book. Books also make for the perfect gift – so here are a few we’re looking forward to delving into this silly season...

For fans of fiction: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

For lovers of short stories: The Best of Me by David Sedaris

For lovers of chick lit: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

For fans of memoirs: Educated by Tara Westover

GIFT

We may be biased, but there’s something so wonderful about receiving skincare for Christmas. So this year, we’ve carefully curated three beautiful holiday kits for you to choose from. Designed to nourish you from the inside out, each kit contains one of our new Organic Beauty Teas as well as a selection of our bestselling skincare. Choose from our Age Defence, Ultra-Hydration or Brightening Essentials kits and give the gift of radiance this year.

WRAP

Giving and receiving gifts is undoubtedly one of the biggest joys of the festive season, but gift wrap can be both costly and unsustainable. The good news is, there are some Pinterest-worthy ways to wrap your gifts that are as beautiful as they are eco-friendly. 
Fabric makes for wonderful gift wrap – but if you don’t have any excess at home, invest in beautiful linen tea towels to wrap your gifts in. Fasten with simple brown string and a sprig of eucalyptus, rosemary or Christmas holly and you’ve got a gorgeous gift that’s reusable, too. If you’re short on time, purchasing a roll of recyclable plain brown or white Butcher’s paper is also a cost-effective way to wrap your gifts. Forgo the plastic sellotape and instead fasten with colourful grosgrain ribbon to reuse again and again.

WRITE

We love nothing more than writing and receiving a beautiful card – but as with gift wrap, holiday cards and gift tags can be wasteful. While we’re not suggesting you ditch the cards altogether, we recommend spending some time searching for eco-friendly, recyclable or handmade cards instead – supporting the environment and local businesses, too. Here in Australia we’re spoiled for choice, but a great example is The Thinktree – an Earth-conscious greeting card and paper goods boutique that celebrates sustainability.