Our Little Friday Letter (Friday, 28th November 2025)

A weekly catch-up from Our Little House in the Country

🌿 Warm Welcome

Hi friends,

Thank you so much for being here again and spending a few minutes of your Friday with me. I’m always so grateful that you take the time to read this little letter each week. I hope your week has been good since we last spoke — or at the very least, that there was one small moment of calm tucked into it somewhere.

Settle in with a cup of something warm, and let’s catch up.

---

🏡 From Our Little House

It’s been a busy one in our little house this week.

We celebrated our youngest turning 14, which was truly lovely. Teenagers get a bad reputation sometimes, but honestly? We are really enjoying this stage. Myself and my husband were out walking one evening, and we found ourselves talking about how much we genuinely love their company. They’re witty, chatty, sarcastic in the funniest way, and just great craic. We feel very lucky that the four of us get on so well. And this year, Christmas Day will be just us — the four of us — for the first time in a few years. We’re already planning our little walks, the cosy meals, the traditions, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Meanwhile… the house itself? Still absolute chaos.
The attic contents are still everywhere. Boxes in corners. Boxes under tables. Boxes staring at me silently every time I walk into a room. But you know what? That’s a problem for another day. (Probably next week’s day. But still.)

In the middle of all this, we put up our beautiful Christmas tree, and oh my goodness — she’s gorgeous. All the memories, all the little decorations from over the years, all the familiar lights. The house may be in disarray, but the living room feels magical.

And then — Christmas markets.
This weekend I have two full days at the Ardgillan Castle Christmas Craft Fair (Saturday and Sunday), so it’s been a week of prepping signage, organising displays, packing boxes, checking stock, and even making extra candles and wax melts because things were beginning to sell out. Not a bad complaint to have!

Busy, busy, busy… but good busy.

---

✨ Theme of the Week: Slowing Down in a Season That Speeds Up

As we come into the final stretch of November, everything starts to speed up around us — invitations, events, shopping lists, school things, work things, end-of-year everything.

And this week, as I’ve been working away on the markets and getting prepared for December, I’ve been reminding myself of this:

Just because the season gets faster doesn’t mean we have to.

There is so much joy to be found in the simple, small, gentle bits of Christmas.
Moments like:

• a quiet evening by the tree
• a walk under the twinkly lights
• a phone-free hour
• a cup of tea before the house wakes
• a single candle lit while the rain hits the window

It doesn’t have to be big to matter.

So the theme this week is just that — a gentle invitation to slow down, savour the season, and let the magic come to you instead of chasing it.

---

📝 On the Blog This Week

As it’s the last week of the month, this week’s blog post was the long-awaited December calendar:

🎄 31 Ways to Slow Down & Savour December

A Calendar for Advent and Beyond

If you read last week’s letter or listen to the podcast, you’ll know that this was inspired by something we did as a family last year. Instead of doing big, expensive outings, we made our own little “advent of experiences” — simple, cosy, memorable things we could do together at home.

This year’s calendar continues that theme:
Small joys.
Simple pleasures.
No pressure.
Just gentle ideas to make December a season of memory-making rather than rush-making.

I’ve had the loveliest messages on Instagram since sharing it on Tuesday — people printing it for friends, popping it into Christmas cards, using it as a family advent calendar, or just keeping it on the fridge for inspiration. I’m so thrilled it’s resonating.

I’ll pop the link here in the published version for you to download the PDF if you’d like to print it.

Coming up on the blog over the next week or two, you can expect posts like:

• The Heart of Christmas: Exploring Meaning Over Materialism and Cherished Traditions 
• Finding Calm in a Busy Christmas: Choosing Connection Over Perfection
• The Simple Joy of Giving: Finding Meaning in the Heart of the Season 
• The Gifts of Darkness and Light

And of course, you can browse the entire Christmas 2025 category, with over 20 festive posts — everything from drinks to movies, cosy rituals, ways to slow down, and little seasonal pleasures.

As always, I’ll link the category here for easy browsing.

---

🎙️ Seasonal Notes: Episode 4 Coming Sunday

A little note about the podcast — Episode 4 of Seasonal Notes will be live this Sunday morning at 7am.

This week, I’m chatting all about the 31 Ways to Slow Down & Savour December calendar — how to use it, why I created it, and the five gentle “threads” woven through it that touch on connection, calm, creativity, joy, and simple seasonal pleasure.

It’s a soft, reflective episode, perfect to listen to with a cup of something warm as you ease into the first days of December. My hope is that it gives you a moment of quiet inspiration before the busy part of the month begins.

If you’d like to listen, you’ll find all the links — Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and the full podcast archive — right here on the podcast page.
I’ll pop the link for you in the published version.

---

🎄 On Instagram This Week

Instagram was full of lovely conversations this week, especially around the December calendar.

You can screenshot it from the grid if that’s easier for you, or download the PDF from the blog — whatever works best.

I also shared a little reel of our main Christmas tree, if you’d like a peek. She’s our “memory tree,” filled with 25 years of ornaments, little souvenirs from trips, decorations from when the kids were tiny, gifts from loved ones — all the little stories of our life together.

We also have a second tree in the dining room, which is up but not decorated yet — it’s our “travel and handmade” tree. I’ll share that as soon as we get to it. It has all the Disney trinkets, the kid-made angels and stars, the babies’ first Christmas ornaments, and all the sweet, sentimental bits.

This year, I’m decorating slowly — bit by bit — instead of doing my usual full-day marathon where I’m wrecked by the end of it. I’m actually enjoying it so much more this way. There’s still loads of time. It’s only November!

Throughout December on Instagram, I’ll be sharing:

• a festive blog post every day
• plenty of cosy Christmas bits
• market days
• seasonal goings-on from our little house

Lots to come.

---

🕯️ Candle Shop Update

Well, it has been a candle-filled week!

With the Ardgillan Castle Christmas Craft Fair happening this weekend (Saturday + Sunday), I’ve been busy making more candles and wax melts, preparing signage, organising stock, and packing everything up.

The Christmas candles have been selling so well — thank you, thank you, thank you. Truly. Every DM, every message, every order means the world to me.

My upcoming markets are:

• Ardgillan Castle Christmas Fair – 2 days, this weekend
• Cottage Market Christmas Market (Scotch Hall, Drogheda) – next weekend
• Cottage Market Christmas Market (Drogheda) – following Saturday
• Sonairte Christmas Fair (Laytown) – following Sunday

A busy few weekends ahead, but I’m really looking forward to them — they’re such a lovely way to get into the festive spirit.

If you feel like a browse, I’ll include the shop link here — never any pressure.
And if you do order, you can use THANKYOU10 for 10% off.

Behind the scenes, I’m also working on some exciting plans for expanding our little candle company in the new year. More soon. ✨

---

❤️ What I’ve Been Loving This Week

Honestly?
Hallmark Christmas movies.

Truly.
I’ve had them on in the background most afternoons, especially when I’m cooking or pottering around. The kids think I’m absolutely cracked, but I find them so comforting and cosy — pure, simple festive fluff. Exactly what my brain needs at this time of year.

---

📚 From the Archives: The Calendars Collection

I thought it might be nice to gather all the seasonal calendars together in one place, so here they are — going right back to May:

• Mindful May
• Joyful June
• Slow August
• Slow September – prompts to ease into Autumn
• Connection-First October
• November Winter Well Calendar
• December Advent & Beyond Calendar

I’ll link each one here in the published version so you can download or print whichever ones you’d like. One of these days, I’ll create a category just for the calendars so they’re all easy to find.

---

🌿 Follow Along

If you’d like to keep in touch between letters, you’ll find me most days over on Instagram — sharing gentle reminders, snippets of everyday life, and chats over coffee in Stories.

Here’s where else you can find me:

• 📷 Instagram
• 📝 Substack
• 📌 Pinterest
• 🏡 Blog

---

💬 Share Your Thoughts

If there’s something you’d love to see in a future newsletter, blog post, or printable, or if you just want to say hello — I’d truly love to hear from you.

You can reach me any time by:

• 📩 Filling out the contact form
• ✉️ Emailing me at hello@ourlittlehouseinthecountry.com
• 💬 Sending a DM over on Instagram

Comments on the blog or Instagram are always welcome too. I read every single one.

---

💛 Until Next Time

Thank you, as always, for reading this Friday Letter.
Your messages, your kindness, your support — they mean more than I can ever properly put into words. I genuinely love putting these together, and it warms my heart every time one of you reaches out to say it was exactly what you needed.

As we step into December next week, I hope you find moments of peace, little sparks of joy, and time to enjoy the season in your own gentle way.

Wishing you the most gorgeous weekend, whatever you have planned — or not planned.

Take good care,
And I’ll talk to you next Friday. 💛

Ciara xox