Gift Guides & Inspiration
All we want for Christmas…
…is a decent night’s sleep – even if we’re shoved in the box room/garage/bunk bed
Ah the festive season, that time of year when many of us head off to visit friends and relatives, never quite sure where we’re expected to rest our heads.
You could be staying in your childhood bedroom (complete with Backstreet Boys poster on the wall), or the box room at your nan’s between the ironing board and fan heater, or maybe you’re destined for the chilly guest room that also doubles up as a gym at your pal’s new pad.
We’ve made life easier by rounding up some necessary luxuries to pack, wherever you spend Christmas and New Year.
Gilly FergusonContributing Editor
Contributing Editor
Despite being 40, as the youngest of four I’m traditionally ‘the little kid’ who gets to share a bunk bed with a six-year-old, a three-year-old and a Wombles of Wimbledon duvet.
But – I married a tall man. And when Ole Leggy McGee is in town? We get bumped up to a double, complete with camp beds for the kids. Sure, Leggy’s legs dangle over the end – and absolutely, the kids always end up in bed with us, smooshed up in my face, kicking/poking/sneezing on me at their leisure. But it’s a grown-up bed, and mattress-coated proof that I’ve finally made it.
India PriceContributing Editor
Contributing Editor
You know those people who still sleep in their childhood room and haven’t changed it one bit? That’s me. I may be married with a child but when I go to Mum and Dad’s, into my childhood bedroom we go. Husband hates it. I love it – queen bed ’n’ all. There’s even a lava lamp still in there.
But unless I want a divorce for 2024 (I don’t), I think some upgrades need to happen. Namely a bigger duvet, a nicer blanket and some better lighting.
Laura CrispProduction Editor
Production Editor
Three generations of my family are gathering in a house we’ve rented (it’s the best way to get us all together from different corners of the country). I’ve heroically offered to sleep in the loft room which looks very much like somewhere to bung small kids and comes with a choice of three extremely single beds.
You never know with a rental whether it’ll be too hot or too cold, and whether the heating will be too complicated to really work out. So I need fluffy slippers for when I’m tiptoeing downstairs to make my first cuppa of the day and a cosy coverup to sling on – also handy in case I bump into a relative on the way.
I never need an excuse to buy new pyjamas and these classy, pure cotton ones will work in any temperature, so they’re going straight in my basket along with a hot water bottle and the cosiest faux-fur cover. And in case my single bed still isn’t conducive to a great night’s kip, I’ll scent my loft until it becomes a heavenly sleep sanctuary.
Lucy ScottSenior Editor
Senior Editor
We hosted my parents for the Big Day itself, then head to my in-laws for Twixmas. Picture the quaint cottage from The Holiday and you’ve hit the nail on the head.
While it’s beautiful, it’s always pretty chilly and you can hear everything, from the blinds being drawn in the kitchen to my brother-in-law snoring two rooms over. Ironically, the only room you can’t really hear is the one where all three kids will be sleeping, so a decent monitor will give us peace of mind.
Holly Rains
Senior Editor
Senior Editor
After successfully retaining my childhood bedroom for 30 years, it was finally decreed that the largest bedroom would no longer be mine. Instead, it would become a new space for my mother (she had claimed my sister’s old room and transformed it into a dressing area the year before). This meant Christmas spent in a box room on a single sofa bed. As the youngest child, this was a hard pill to swallow.
That was until I gave my parents the joy of becoming grandparents. Joey the Cypriot mutt arrived in 2017 and since then, has been given VIP access to my old bedroom (yes, the largest bedroom) and I’m his designated plus one. The space, and dysfunctional radiator, does mean it gets cold, but that’s what blankets and a 35kg dog are for.
