One Cozy Christmas Eve, Room by Room, Page by Page

In 1839 the children at the Rauhes Haus in Hamburg asked their teacher, Johann Hinrich Wichern, every single day whether it was Christmas yet. He answered once, with an old cartwheel: 24 small red candles for the weekdays, 4 big white ones for the Sundays. Light 1 a day and count for yourself. The first Advent wreath was invented to stop a question.

There are 8 wreaths for the door in this set, and every one has its own rule. The Full Ring has the best piece of advice I’ve had all year.

At homeTape the Heart wreath inside the front door at eye level. The last thing you see on the way out is a compliment.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒4 words, about counting berries. Once you know it, every shop-bought wreath looks wrong.Unlocks with the set · $9

The mistletoe goes up in the hall, and Washington Irving wrote down the original terms and conditions in his Sketch Book: the young men may kiss the girls under it, “plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.” So be generous with the berries. Nobody needs a mistletoe with a waiting list.

The Lantern is the page people frame first, and its secret is 4 words long.

At homeProp the Lantern on the hall table next to the keys. The only lamp in the house that never needs a bulb.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒4 words, about where the light comes from. It is the reason people frame this page first.Unlocks with the set · $9

6 o’clock is the last quiet cup before the table fills. The Christmas Teacup is the easiest page in the set and has the most honest secret in it.

The Clementine wreath hangs here too, sliced oranges and berries in a ring, with a rule every good cook already knows. The Gift sits on the counter waiting to be wrapped, with a rule I now apply to flowers, biscuits and guests. Both are 4 words long, printed under step 4.

At homeLean the Teacup on the kettle shelf. When someone asks if you drew it, say yes and pour.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒5 words, about the steam, and it is the laziest advice in the set. It works.Unlocks with the set · $9

Set the table with names, then sing the carol with the comma in the wrong place, like everyone does. It’s “God rest you merry, gentlemen”: the comma goes after merry. “Rest you merry” is old English for “God keep you merry.” It was never a song about cheerful men, and people have been misreading it since at least 1803.

Then comes “Joy to the World”, the most-published Christmas carol in North America. Isaac Watts wrote it in 1719 from Psalm 98, about the Second Coming. No shepherds, no star, no baby. It became a Christmas carol anyway, by popular demand.

At homeWrite each guest’s name on a Place Card (free tonight) and tuck a sprig of rosemary behind it. Nobody will swap seats.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒4 words, about the letters. It is the difference between a label and a greeting.Unlocks with the set · $9

In December 1848 the Illustrated London News printed Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Windsor around a tabletop tree. In 1850 Godey’s Lady’s Book reprinted it for American readers and quietly removed her tiara and his moustache. The picture that put the Christmas tree in America’s parlours was a royal one, shaved.

My Floral Tree has no royals and all its decorations, and its secret saves wrists. The Angel goes beside it with the rule I resisted longest, the one about the wings.

At homePeg the Stocking page to the mantel garland with a tiny clothes peg, next to the real ones. The only stocking that never asks for a satsuma.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒3 words, about the patches, and it is why the stocking looks hand-knitted.Unlocks with the set · $9

The first Christmas card was commissioned by Henry Cole in 1843. John Callcott Horsley drew it, 1,000 copies were printed, and they were offered for a shilling each, which was a lot of money for a card. About 21 survive.

Robins arrived on cards soon after, and here is why: Victorian postmen wore red coats and were nicknamed robins, so artists drew the bird delivering the letters. The robin on your card is, technically, the postman.

9 o’clock gets 12 pages: 6 lettered greetings, the Robin, and 5 card and tag workshops, from Card Layouts to The Card, Start to Finish.

At homeDo 3 cards tonight and post them tomorrow. 3 is a batch; 30 is a New Year’s resolution.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒4 words, about the eye. Do it, and the bird is suddenly looking at you.Unlocks with the set · $9

On 16 December 1965, on the Gemini 6 flight, Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford reported an unidentified craft in orbit, apparently piloted by a man in a red suit. Then they played “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica and a string of sleigh bells they had packed. Both are now at the Smithsonian.

The Cardinal sits on the sill outside: state bird of 7 American states, and the page where red goes last for a reason. The Snowdrops are on the window a little early. They’re called Candlemas bells and aren’t due until 2 February. Nobody tells them.

At homeTape the Snowdrops to the coldest window in the house, facing out. The street gets a drawing; you get the moon.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒6 words, about nerve. Hesitate, and the sleigh stops in the snow.Unlocks with the set · $9

In Iceland they tell of the Yule Cat, a giant cat that prowls at Christmas and eats anyone who hasn’t been given new clothes. It is the best argument for socks as a present I have ever heard. My Christmas Cat is less strict, but has the same posture.

Then the Dove, the last page of the night. Its secret is 6 words long and breaks the one rule you were sure about.

At homeLeave the Dove on the arm of the chair with the pen on top. Tomorrow morning it’s a card.

🔒The 4 steps and the secret▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒5 words, about where the black goes, and it is why she sits forward off the page.Unlocks with the set · $9