In the STAR episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley celebrate Twelfth Night and look for other reasons to cheer up what feels like the longest month of January.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

Candle Holder

How To Wassail Well

How to hold a Wassail

Buttered bourbon apple cider

Tangerine and nutmeg hot chocolate

Blood Orange Posset

Slow Orange Poppy Seed Cake

In the January issue (163) on sale now

The appeal of ice skating

A winter of care and repair

In our In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology

Gathering: Twelfth Night with the La Fête des Rois

Candle holders

In previous issues, available to buy at picsandink.com

Life lessons from the north: the value of age-old customs and community in enduring the long, dark winters. (Issue 151)

Looking back why we are fascinated by the stars (issue 152)

Snow lanterns (issue 138)

Learn more

Candles: A modern guide to making candles by Ebi Sinter and Emmanuel Sinteh

Watch out for the Quadrantid meteor shower between 28 December-12 January, peeking around 3-4 January 2026

Slow Down And Be Here Now by Laura Brand and Freya Hartas

A Winter Dictionary: A Collection of Words for the Festive Season by Paul Anthony Jones

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

If you’ve got some time off, now’s the chance to kick back a bit. Join Wellbeing Editor Rebecca FrankAuthor of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley

In Episode 5 PAUSE, as they share ideas for carving out some time to relax and reset in this in-between bit of Christmas.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

How to do a jigsaw properly

In the January issue (163) on sale now

Long views from tall towers

Taking cues from the people, animals and nature that surround us

Life lessons from David Attenborough

Fish pie and cheddar mash

Learn more

Is a gansey a Guernsey?

Mindwandering: How It Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Your Creativity, by Moshe Bar (Bloomsbury Tonic)

Fish pie hash

In previous issues available to buy at picsandink.com

Wearing well: Mittens (issue 127)

Panettone French toast (Issue 138)

Favourite annuals (issue 138)

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank as we get stuck into festive feasting. We’ll be talking turkey, side dishes, tipples and nibbles, how to explain Christmas Eve to kids with science and just why we love Boxing Day so much.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

Root veg peel crisps

Christmas Eve explained

Cheese board pairings

Brussel sprout bhajias

Which Christmas character are you?

In the December issue (162) on sale now

Boxing day buffet – roast cranberry and mustard gammon, winter goat’s cheese salad, meringue nests with fruit and boozy cream

Grow your own Christmas Day veg

Sprout slaw

Homemade blinis

In previous issues available at picsandink.com

Kitschmas – snowball, devilled eggs, mozzarella and pineapple sticks (Issue 150)

Why we love Boxing Day (Issue 150)

In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology

Side dishes as celebratory as the roast they surround

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

Join Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank and Author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley as they help you discover ways to find your own little pockets of calm in the run up to Christmas. In this episode, we appreciate the quiet of the approaching solstice, press pause and take some time for ourselves before curling up with some winter reads.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

How to solve an Agatha Christie novel

Books that Embrace the Cold

Why We Love Cosy Crime

In the December issue (162) on sale now

Pressing pause: Whether it’s a few minutes to yourself or a day away, giving yourself time to do the things you enjoy this month will help prevent overwhelm

Kitchen therapy

Reading: awell-chosen book can bring moments of comfort, calm and cheer over the coming weeks.

Modern eccentrics: Solstice revellers

My place: Festive foliage

Learn more

Nature’s Calendar: The British Year In 72 Seasons by Kiera Chapman, Lulah Ellender, Rowan Jaines, Rebecca Warren (Granta)

In previous issues available at picsandink.com

A day in December: images that captured the magic of this month (150)

How to get on with your siblings as grown-ups (and have a more harmonious yuletide). (126)

A winter walk is a breath of fresh air. (150)

Tuning into the month’s micro-seasons (138)

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank talk treasure, including the things we decorate our homes with, the people we treasure at Christmas and ways to treasure the season.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

On the blog

Handmade gift ideas from thesimplethings.com

Christmas crackers template here

Bay and lemon sea salt body scrub

Homemade tea bags

Edible baubles

Fairy cake baubles

Gingerbread tree decorations

In the December issue (162) on sale now

Make your own advent candle

Christmas playlist

Mini rosemary wreath decorations

Eggnog – why everyone should try it

Forest needles chai

Decorations from fabric scraps

Weekend away – wreath making in the west country

In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology

Crafternoon – festive bakes and gifts

Choosing the tree

Edible baubles and stained-glass biscuits

Handmade Christmas crackers

In our wellbeing bookazine, Flourish Volume 4

Everlasting wreaths

Learn more

How to have an eco-friendly Christmas: advice from The Wildlife Trusts, The National Trust and WWF

Fish pie recipe carrying the MSC blue label by James Strawbridge

In previous issues available at picsandink.com

Missing people at Christmas – Issue 150

Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley in the first episode of our Merry Midwinter season, where we are doing our best to find calm and contentment in the run up to Christmas. This episode we will be chatting about alternative approaches to advent calendars, the people working hard to preserve much-loved customs, the joy of a Christmas market and how to fill your home with festive scents.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

In the December issue (162) on sale now

Weekend project advent candle

Alternative advent calendar ideas

Keeping up traditions

On the blog

Natural Advent Calendar of Promises

Make your own advent calendar

Living Advent Calendar

Scented Pinecones

Herbs & Spices playlist

From A Year of Celebrations anthology

Weekend project: make your own advent calendar

Learn more

Window Wonderland in Shepton Mallet, Somerset
A Winter Dictionary: A collection of words for the festive season by Paul Anthony Jones (Elliott & Thompson)

In previous issues available to buy at picsandink.com

Looking back: Mid-century Christmas traditions (138)

Finding the fairytale for free(ish) (138)

Weekend project: Scents of the season: Use natural finds to fill your home with some favourite smells of winter (150)

Christmassy Cities: Nuremberg (150), Bruges (Issue 126), Prague (162)

Easy Giving: simple ways you can help spread cheer (150)

For Christmas gift wrapped subscriptions click here and use code GIFTWRAP25

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish products. Find out more at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes, Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank and regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley as they take an early evening walk together and ponder over the joy and comfort of a familiar ramble, consider why being outdoors helps us to talk more freely, and finish with a stroll in the footsteps of Jane Austen in Bath’s very own pleasure gardens.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things get 30% off and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

In The Simple Things

In the October HUG issue (160) on sale now

Magical creatures – an appreciation of the tawny owl

In the November SPICE issue (161)

An Autumnal roast – it’s the season for roast dinners and this one is a winner

Buy the November issue at picsandink.com from 16 October and on the newsstand from 22 October.

From Flourish, our wellbeing bookazine (Volume 3)

How to do autumn well – foraging, feasting and conker fighting

Outdoor therapy – how it works and techniques to try as your walk

Flourish Volume 4 is coming soon and is available to pre-order with 10% off until 29 October

IN PREVIOUS ISSUES

Which Jane Austen character are you? Fun quiz and events to suit your character. (Issue 154, April 2025)

Moodscapes and walking routes – how different landscapes make us feel. (Issue 154, April 2025). Read more on our blog. Taken from The Walking Cure by Annabel Streets (Bloomsbury Tonic)

Buy current and back issues here

LEARN MORE

Jane Austen 250 year anniversary events in Bath https://visitbath.co.uk/inspire-me/literary-bath/jane-austen-bath and beyond www.janeausten.co.uk

The joy of a familiar walk by Alice Tatham (Issue 129) Follow Alice on Instagram @thewildwoodmoth

Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank for our own mini harvest festival as they relish this time of abundance for cooking, gathering and squirreling away before the first frosts arrive.

If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing by Dhylyn Foster. Music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

Hedgrow fizz – foraged berries diluted with sparkling wine or water

Crab apple whisky

Crab apple and fennel seed leather

In defence of the pear

How to stock a store cupboard

Lessons from Nigella
Baked pear pies

In the October HUG issue (160) on sale now

Kitchen therapy – baked pear pies and a mindful drawing exercise

Wine and cheese gathering – good wine and cheese pairings make for happy guests

In previous issues

In the September TREASURE issue (159)

Plates to plot – share the harvest with friends by holding your own allotment feast with a tipple of warm apple cider and other seasonal dishes

Coming up in the November issue (161)

Smart ways to eat well. An extract from Shrewd Food: 60 Ways to Eat Yourself Healthy by Noonie Zand Goodarzi (Badger Books). Illustrations by Mudd Bexley
November issue 161 will be available to pre-order at picsandink.com from 16 October, on sale from 22 October.

Don’t give up your garden for winter: The natural world may be winding down but autumn is actually the start of the agricultural year, a time to plant and plan for the months ahead

In Flourish Volume 3

Today, tomorrow to keep: pears

Chocolate pear cake and preserved pears in red wine

Pre-order the new Flourish Volume 4 with 10% off at www.picsandink.com until 29 October

How to subscribe to The Simple Things – for an immediate start subscription with 30% go to off cover price go to http://www.icebergpress.co.uk/subscribe