We live in a small rural town so we don’t have the razzle and dazzle of the big cities’ Christmas celebrations.  However I like to think that our Christmas reflects some of the simpler traditions of the season which still bring that lovely sparkly festive feel.

Tonight I took the children to a beautiful event, The Christmas Tree Festival.  The idea is simple, local businesses sponsor a Christmas tree and local groups and schools decorate the trees for display.  It used to take place in the tiny church of a local village but the event has got much bigger and has moved to the newly built town church.  This makes it accessible to more people and allows for more activities on the site too, there was a café, children’s craft tables and an inspired manger scene where you could dress up and have your photo taken in the most authentic Christmas story tableau.

However the highlight was the 38 trees.  The themes and decorations were so creative and original.  The badminton club had covered shuttlecocks in foil and made them into daleks with the tardis as the tree topper.  For the Knifty Knitters each decoration was hand crafted.  A local chef had decorated hers with edible decorations and it was humbling to read wishes for the world from local school children.  In addition to the trees there is a programme of events during the festival, bell ringing, toddlers sing song, carols, craft activities, readings and a very poignant lights of love service.

I loved the festival, it is a simple idea but beautifully creative with a real sense of community and anticipation of Christmas.