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Doing December Differently by Nicola Slee and Rosie Miles. Pub Wild Goose, pp380, ISBN 1905010230, £14.99

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If you are bored, frustrated or irritated by the Advent and Christmas season, Doing December Differently may be the book for you. Divided into three sections it offers new ways of marking what has become for some an over commercialised and sentimentalised celebration. In the first section, personal stories and reflections from individuals tell how they face the season, with their anxieties and resentments, and how tired traditions can be revived in new and varied ways. The second focuses on practicalities and offers a selection of activities that might enable the true meaning of Christmas to come through. The final section offers prayers, rituals and meditations, all of which can be used for personal or communal worship.

Some of the personal stories are heart-warming and some make uncomfortable reading: some good and thought provoking; others frustratingly dull and irritating. Read together there are just too many and I longed for someone to say they actually enjoyed Christmas. The collection of practical suggestions left me cold; some were rather obvious and some contrived. The section of prayers and liturgies is where my heart lies and I shall spend many a happy hour or two selecting material for this years festivities from here. As I read through this section new thoughts and ideas came to mind that could offer different ways of celebrating the season rooted in the cares, joys and sorrows that come uninvited to the surface for all of us.

MH