A Christmas wish list with a difference

As we’re all very aware, ‘tis the season to be shopping and while normally I’m dropping hints so big Santa can spot them from the North Pole, this year I find myself feeling a little differently towards the tradition of Christmas gift-giving. Now (take note Santa) that’s not to say I’d say no to a present if someone happens to have one wrapped and waiting for me under their tree (I’d be ever so gracious and also probably also quite overexcited), I’m just feeling a little more conscious these days. Conscious of commercialism, conscious of the waste caused by so much packaging and gift wrapping, conscious of my carbon footprint when ordering things online, conscious of over consumption and of course, conscious of budget.

So when I started to think about writing my Christmas wish list for dear old Santa – and anyone else on the good old world wide web who happens to stumble across it – I realised that all of the things I really wish for right now are things that don’t require any money; things that can’t be wrapped; things that don’t do any harm to the environment; and things that I can’t even take home with me. For a minute there I felt incredibly grown up by knowing the difference between needs and wants at Christmas, but then as I put Pikes’ Sunny’s Christmas Karaoke playlist on repeat for the fifth time today and felt the reindeer ears on my head wobble as I sang along, I realised you don’t have to be a grown up to be able to enjoy the spirit of Christmas AND live more consciously too.

Christmas wish #1: NO STAR WARS SPOILERS PLEASE I cannot express how much I am staying off social media until Christmas Eve, when the cinema in Ibiza finally (FINALLY! Do you hear me Cine Regio? We deserve it in English on opening night too!) screens Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in its original language version. It is absolutely killing me that there are people out there who know how the saga ends – with previous episodes of the franchise, I have been known to to Barcelona to watch the premiere in English (yes I’m a mega-fan) but this year, some other important commitments kept me in Ibiza so I am waiting with baited breath, buns in hair and special R2D2/C3PO leggings on in anticipation. And I’m blocking my ears, can’t hear a word you’re saying about it, fa la la la la, la la la la laaaaa…

Christmas wish #2: PEACE AND LOVE FOR ALL ANIMALS Yes, yes, and for all mankind too – but we need to be voices for those who can’t speak. There’s been so much furore in Ibiza recently (and rightly so, I believe) about animals being shipped off to be put to sleep if they haven’t been adopted, and there has been a horrific spate of goat killings in Formentera (don’t Google it if you don’t want your heart to break), not to mention the slaughter of the goats of Es Vedra, and I’ve seen two of the owners of Ibiza’s voluntary animal shelters who are being evicted from their premises who need help. Every single day without fail I see new baby kittens up for adoption on Facebook, ALL of whom have been dumped by owners. WHO are these people? HOW could you throw an animal away like garbage? I really wish a solution can be found before more animals are harmed unnecessarily – I’m not really sure what it is, or even how to help more (I have adopted enough cats, I walk dogs from the shelter and I donate to animal charities), not just in Ibiza but all over the world.

Christmas wish #3: GOODWILL TO ALL PEOPLE In today’s gender-sensitive climate, I thought it best to be careful not to colloquially say ‘to all men’ anymore! But I digress – if you read my blog last week, you’ll know that we’re all becoming more and more aware that the holidays are a tough time for many many people (and if you didn’t read it, click here to get the scoop). As I sit here writing somewhat tongue-in-cheek wish lists, I’m all too aware of my own privilege and I’m even more grateful for my own happiness. I wish that we could all just get along; I wish everyone knew that they are valued and loved; I wish nobody felt alone or hurt or helpless. I wish we could find a way to end suffering for those who can’t see a way out. I hope we can all strive to be better humans, long after the Christmas warm and fuzzies have passed.

Christmas wish #4: FOR CLIMATE CHANGE TO SLOW DOWN We’ve been talking about this till we’re blue in the face, but it’s not stopping Australia from burning; from animals (even the most basic koalas that I grew up with! Not to mention more exotic or noble creatures) becoming extinct; from people losing their homes and worse still, their lives. Talking is also not stopping the sea being polluted more than ever before, even though it seems like so many of us are living as consciously as possible. It’s not stopping places like Venice crumbling after more floods; it’s not making the world change its eating habits; it’s not keeping our coral reefs alive; it’s not stopping people from travelling to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s a tragedy that’s unfolding with each new year – now a new decade is upon us and part of me dreads to think what might happen. Which leads me to…

Christmas wish #5: PUT SUPERHEROES IN POLITICS Now, I’m not one to discuss politics (you know the rules), but things are just getting a bit out of hand now, aren’t they? Given the recent UK election, and today’s announcement that Donald Trump has been impeached, it’s actually kind of hard to stay away from these kinds of conversations. I know we live in a bubble here in Ibiza – well, those of us who are unaffected by Brexit anyway – but it would just be nice if Wonder Woman and Thor could come in and sort everything out with the lasso of truth, plus the mighty hammer. It would be nice to live in a world where the people in power looked after those less fortunate, and that doesn’t seem to be the way we’re headed. Let me just call my friend Chris Hemsworth and see what he can do.

Christmas wish #6: LET IT SNOW IN IBIZA I’m not talking about the sleet that covers the north of the island on super cold mornings. I’m not even talking about those little pretty snowflakes that float on down to the Balearics every couple of years but melt the second they hit the ground. We need more than a flurry! I would just love to see – even for just one day – our whole island covered in fluffy white powder (no jokes here people) with kids (err, and me) making snowmen and sledding down the Dalt Vila ramp. I’d love to see the Santa Eulalia river rise back up and then freeze again, so we could ice skate along it. As a girl who grew up in the southern hemisphere and spent Christmas in raging heat, I thought moving to Europe would afford me fairytale festive seasons. That’s not to say I don’t love Christmas here in Ibiza, I would just love it even more if it snowed…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (again)

Well, would you look at that? It’s already the most wonderful time of year again! Halloween came and went in the blink of an eye after we wrapped up the summer season and now there’s a giant tree standing tall at the top of Vara de Rey, quaint little wooden market huts in the square and the streets are festooned with festive lights – it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There’s something so old fashioned and charming about Ibiza at this time of year – despite the evolution of the island, it still seems to have escaped the clutches of Christmas commercialisation…

I’m not saying retailers aren’t wringing their hands with glee at the thought of all that extra Christmas trade (after the mayhem of Black Friday is over, or as I prefer to call it, Bleugh Friday), but here there seems to be a lot less overkill when it comes to gift giving. The shops just trade their regular hours, day in, day out. They close on Sundays, like always. You hear far less Christmas carols – or bastardised pop versions of Christmas carols – than you do in any city! Gift wrapping services are minimal to say the least (think store-branded bag with a sparkly gift tag – no gift wrapping stations or choices of paper and ribbon). You don’t see countless stocking stuffer gifts that are rendered completely useless after the first moment they were opened. There seems to be a lot less greed here at Christmas, and along with that, less waste. It’s not totally minimal but it’s not Oxford Circus.

Which brings me to the lights. One of the things I’ve always loved about Ibiza at Christmas is the simplicity of the lights strung across the main streets (31 on them according to the local newspaper!). For many years, they were recycled, simply rotated from street to street so it always looked different – aside from the ‘Bones Festes’ at the entrance to Ibiza town, which still makes me giggle even though I know the translation. Last year, new energy efficient lights were introduced and hopefully these too, will be rotated around the island rather than simply replaced by a new-fangled design like other major cities in the world. The lights will be switched on this Friday November 29, 2019 at 6.30pm (which must make all the pre-Christmas naysayers happy – sticking to traditional timelines like this) by none other than the goddess Tanit, which seems like a very bizarre Christmas deity (or, err, celebrity) but hey, it’s Ibiza and who are we to argue?

In my ideal world, the official Ambassador of Ibiza, Paris Hilton (I’m not kidding – she really has been ordained), would jet into town and do the honours, or maybe her island highness Charlotte Tilbury, who was born and bred in Ibiza and could do an in-store appearance just a little down the square in Sephora after she’d done her switching-on duties. Or maybe it should be the Mambo King, Javier Anadon, alongside his sons the Mambo Brothers in honour of their A-list DJ status, with an after party. What about Carl Cox (could he also dress as Santa? ‘Ho-ho-yes!’), or Papa Sven? The truth is, once the summer is over, the remaining population of Ibiza isn’t likely to be interested in superstar DJs or famous faces (and vice versa!), especially when it comes to lighting Christmas lights – and that’s what makes it still so quaint and charming.

I have always loved Christmas. Always, always, always. I believed in Santa Claus (or at least pretended to believe) right up until the point where I couldn’t get away with it anymore, and on the inside, I still secretly hope to hear sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling too, on Christmas Eve. I have always loved the way a Christmas tree lights up a room – even without the lights on! I love collecting decorations – even the ugliest of felt decorations from the late 70s in our house had a story – each year and adding them to my collection, and I love that magic moment when the tree is finally ready and you add the angel on top. For me, it’s always got to be an angel. I love giving gifts – if I lived in a city I would be the worst for buying into the commercialisation of Christmas, so perhaps it’s better that I live here and follow a more frugal gift giving style!

But, I am indeed a purist when it come to my tree. It won’t be going up until December 1 and it will come down on January 6, promptly. These dates were instilled into me as a child and no matter how much I love Christmas, I can’t break the rules (although there was one year that I left the tree up until March, but I’d been in an accident so couldn’t physically do it – suffice to say though, I definitely did experience bad luck!). If other people want to put their tree up before D.Day, that’s their choice – and I totally understand why you would! Who doesn’t want more Christmas joy in their life? And if you take it down in February, or later, well, if you want to risk the evil spirits taking hold of your home after the ‘twelfth night’, again, that’s your prerogative.

Here in Spain, the twelfth night is actually also celebrated as part of Christmas – Kings Day, as it’s called, is the day children receive their presents (from the three kings, not Santa – though you’ll find these days they often get both), so I’ve come to love Christmas even more ever since I moved here. It’s the occasion that keeps on giving – whereas in Australia, the UK or the USA, you’ve moved onto New Year and the subsequent hangovers and resolutions, here, we take a break to party and then get back to the Christmas festivities. The more Christmas the better!

We may not have snow in Ibiza, we may not even have weather cold enough to warrant wearing a Christmas sweater, but our little island/small town Christmas is just about as perfect as it can get if you ask me (which you didn’t). We’ve got oysters and champagne in Plaza del Parque, we’ve got Christmas hippy market at Las Dalias, we’ve even got gluhwein and chestnuts roasting on an open fire at San Jordi flea market on a Saturday. We’ve got the goddess Tanit lighting our Christmas lights! We can have Christmas lunch on the beach (and yes I KNOW we can also do that in Australia, but it’s far too hot there to enjoy eating anything at all). We’ve got Casa Maca’s awesome Christmas Market. We’ve got the Three Kings Parade on January 6! It’s the Christmas that keeps on giving. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just got to go and put on my Kylie Christmas album and start unpacking the decorations in preparation for Sunday morning – because I wouldn’t dare do it a moment before, but that doesn’t stop me from singing along!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

It’s that time of year again where people are talking about naughty and nice lists and while I’m never quite sure which one I want to find myself on, I feel like I must have done something right this year as my Christmas wish from 2017 is coming true! The Christmas markets and the big tree have returned to their rightful home in pride of place on the square in Vara de Rey, which means the nightly winter buzz has been restored to my home town and I have all the more reason to go nuts on tinsel, baubles and those cute mini-cups of red wine with sobrasada!

Let me explain. Last year, after the extensive renovations to Ibiza town’s main street, Vara de Rey, the powers that be decided they didn’t want to scuff the brand new pavement on the lovely new pedestrianised square with portable market cabins (or a giant Christmas tree) and so they were banished to a weird corner of Ibiza town that bordered on the main road leading up to Can Misses. The space was ample enough, sure. It just didn’t feel all that Christmassy, in the shadow of Can Misses hospital and the location wasn’t appealing to most Ibiza dwellers – walking up through the empty, desolate streets of the new town to be greeted by a crazy LED tree and a few sad little stalls and a churros truck. It just wasn’t a ‘destination’ if you know what I mean.

But order has been restored to the universe this year and for all those naysayers who thought the regeneration of Vara de Rey was destined to be a flop, I dare you NOT to have a good time on any given weeknight over Christmas! Right now, the squares are pulsating with life (and flashy Christmas lights), the restaurants are buzzing (and busy!) and the vibe is even better than it used to be. OK, so there were no celebrities flicking a big switch and the lights are more quaint than Carnaby Street, but this was always what I loved most about Christmas in Ibiza. It’s just the right amount of sparkle and not at all overly commercialised. It’s like a lovely little village Christmas, where friends and family can get together after dark and have a little stroll around as they catch up, followed by some nice food and wine before heading home at a very family-friendly time indeed.

Let’s start with Plaza del Parque – an area that was oft-neglected when it came to decorations at Christmas time, which really made no sense given that it’s a hub of activity on winter nights. Now, the whole square is glowing under the light of globes strung like a Maypole, and while parents are sipping mulled wine or cava in one of the many cafes and restaurants, their children are extra visible as they around the middle of the square. It’s here where you’ll also find most people heading for their last minute ‘stocking filler’ type shopping needs, as Natura is situated on the square and is open til 9 every night. Its windows are also strung with beautiful fairy lights in the spirit of the season and there are more fluffy Christmas socks and candles in stock than you could ever dream of.

Meanwhile, over in the bigger square, Vara de Rey, a double row of cute little market huts run down the centre of the plaza. Now – if you’re looking for a one-stop shopping location to tick off everyone on your ‘nice’ list, let me pre-warn you. The Ibiza Christmas markets are more about decorating your home for the holidays than filling stockings, though there are a few token stalls with typical hippy market-esque jewellery and leather goods if you need a last minute gift. You know the stuff: fringed and embossed leather handbags and purses, some rabbit fur vests (look away vegans!) and Indian-style jewellery sparkling with coloured gems or crystals. There’s also a very nice Italian man with an entire stall dedicated to Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 17 years and 25 years), which I must admit – I do not personally associate with Christmas! Italian friends – can you shed any light on this? He does look very out of place there with his little platters of cheese (but DAMN it tastes amazing) while everyone else around him is peddling Christmas decs. Ahhh yes, the Christmas decs. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I LOVE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

Growing up, we always had amazing trees and then when I was old enough to have a part time job in a department store, I managed to score myself work in the Christmas section over the holidays. Ever since then, I have developed a keen eye for perfectly executed decoration layout and precision light placement and it’s something that has travelled with me to the other side of the globe. Here in Ibiza, my Christmas tree is my creative pride and joy. One year I kept it up until the end of March (defying the myth that you have a year of bad luck if you keep it up past January 6) because I loved looking at it so much. In case you were wondering, I’ve gone for a gold and red theme, interspersed with all the meaningful decorations I have from years gone by, with a quirky little pigtailed angel on top who one of my friends recently called deranged, but I thought looked like a whimsical Christmas fairy.

So where was I? Right, the Christmas markets. So within the 12 or so stalls you can shop from, you can get decorations – and also fake Christmas trees –  within all budgets. There are the cheap-ish plastic ones complete with strings of brightly coloured tinsel, santa hats, reindeer ears headbands and felted stockings (and one of these stalls also donates a portion of their profits to charity); then you go up a level and can get glossy glass baubles, beautiful angels and metres and metres of fairy lights. And lastly, you can get creative, with one entire stall dedicated to custom wreaths, garlands, table centrepieces and decorations made by a professional florist with natural and rustic materials. The stalls that sell trees also offer a styling service, decorating the tree under your guidance, then packing it all up for you to take home as a bundle (the thought of this makes me shudder, but I also understand not everyone is a Christmas pro like me). The biggest novelty for me are the stalls selling all the individual parts to create your own nativity scene.

This is a big thing here in Spain and you can pick and choose your palm trees, sheep, mangers, wise men, donkeys, baby Jesuses and so on, and so forth. It’s such an interesting tradition – made even more interesting by the fact all Catalan nativities feature a caganer (which roughly translates to a pooping peasant). Apparently the little pooper has been making an appearance since the 18^th century, found squatting behind the manger, although he’s been updated in more recent years to some very irreverent (and blasphemous) characters, including the pooping Queen, the pooping Pope, pooping Yoda, pooping David Beckham – you name the celeb, they make it. You simply pick your favourite pooper and add him to your set!

My favourite market stall this year is the man who hand-makes typically Ibicencan ceramic dioramas. He does have a few nativity-inspired sets (yes, with the caganer), but my favourites are the ones that are most representative of daily island life, like the Ibicenca making sobrasada, or the typical local bar serving hierbas or families at home in their fincas complete with all the details you’d expect to see in real life. They’re not cheap (upwards of 100 and 200€ for many) but for a true Ibiza lover, they’re an amazing gift and something you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Once you’ve had your fill of market browsing, it’s time to find a place to unwind and all the bars in the area are decked in Christmas lights and with toasty outdoor heaters to lure you in.

The Montesol is indeed the grandest, decked in thousands of fairy lights and presiding over the whole square; while Le Vrai entices with the offer of Raclette cheese and cold cuts with a glass of vin chaud. Back in Plaza del Paruqe, the oyster bar is also set to open on the corner of Hostal Parque later this month – serving up fresh oysters, prawns and champagne every night until January 6, 2019, which is when the Spanish typically celebrate Christmas and the arrival of the three kings. But that’s a story for another blog…

I’m a believer…

Christmas is a time where it’s easy to believe in magic. There are pretty lights twinkling everywhere, sparkling decorations, parties aplenty, people dressed up to the nines, champagne glasses tinkling, new Star Wars movies to watch… and of course, there’s the promise of Santa Claus. What… you don’t believe? I’ll admit, after you reach a certain age, the idea of a fat man in a red suit travelling all over the world in one single night, led by flying reindeer no less, certainly seems hard to swallow. But there’s just something so hopeful, so charming and so magical about the concept of Santa that I always kind of held onto a little shred of hope that he was real. Plus, that time I heard the reindeer’s footsteps on my roof when I was about eight years old pretty much confirmed it for me anyway. Santa is out there.

As a kid, I always knew the department store Santas weren’t THE ONE – I just figured he had a lot going on in December so couldn’t be everywhere all at once (I see the irony) and farmed the job out to some actors. I didn’t mind. Those guys always seemed to pass my wishes onto the real Santa and I was always very fortunate enough to find the exact presents I’d wished for under the tree come Christmas morning. They were obviously my hotline to the main man. I remember the anticipation of Christmas morning SO WELL. I had butterflies every Christmas Eve and I’d want to go to bed early so I could wake up to Christmas day sooner. My mother tells me I would often throw up in the throes of over-excitement. Who can blame me? At some stage between say, the hours of 10pm and 5am, a magical man in a red suit was going to find his way into my house – despite the fact we didn’t have a chimney – and chow down on some cookies and milk before leaving me a bunch of cool stuff. He was always SO STEALTH. No matter how many times I woke up in the middle of the night and snuck down to the tree to see if he’d been, not once did I ever see Santa in action. The closest I came was hearing those hooves. Of course – there were some times when Santa seemed in closer proximity than others. Like that time my parents were in direct contact with him – he’d asked my dad to build me a cubby house and my mum to make curtains for it because the elves were too busy that year and needed help. That was pretty cool and even more proof that he was real. They told me I wasn’t allowed to see it until Christmas because those were Santa’s orders and I respected that. No one wants to piss off the big man and risk getting a lump of coal on Christmas morning.

Over time, Santa’s visits started to slow down, but I always thought that was OK. Santa was all about little kids – as you get older, new kids are born to take your place. It’s the natural order of things. But I never stopped believing. Of course, when I moved to Ibiza I did kind of wonder whether Santa would be able to find me again – should he feel the urge to revisit me in my grown-up years – but I’ve always trusted in his reindeer compass system anyway, so I’m not going to start doubting him now. Plus, I am pretty sure I spied him in the DJ booth at DC10 on New Year’s day one year (the guy surely needs a good rave after all that Christmas stress!), so Ibiza is on his radar for sure. All these years later, I am aware that I was one of the very lucky ones who had the luxury of being able to believe in Santa so fervently and for that I will be forever grateful (and will forever listen out for sleigh bells ringing on Christmas Eve). But if Santa is just not your thing (in the backlash against lying to children, competitive parenting and consumerism or if Christmas is just not a holiday that’s in line with your beliefs – I get it), please find some other kind of magic to believe in! Because when you believe in magic, anything is possible… and that’s the kind of outlook we need more of in the world today. I recently read an article that really resonated with my not-so-secret belief of Santa Claus. The idea was that there’s a little bit of Santa is in all of us (whether you’re a parent or not). We all have the ability to play Santa, selflessly giving and not expecting anything in return. And now that it’s Christmas time, we should all embrace our inner Santas and give as much as possible. Whether it’s giving heartfelt gifts that make people feel loved and appreciated or giving your spare change or donating blankets, scarves and coats to people on the street to try and help make their living conditions a little more bearable, the spirit of giving should be at the heart of your Christmas wishes. And if giving doesn’t come naturally to you? Well, just remember – Santa is always watching!

Christmas shopping conundrums

There’s no better excuse to go shopping than Christmas – it’s a feel-good experience, dreaming up the perfect gift ideas and wandering around the stores and snapping them all up like a treasure hunt. After all, it’s all in the spirit of giving. In Ibiza however, Christmas shopping – in my humble opinion – is nowhere near as easy as it is for those who live in a big city. The stores here are quite limited with stock (and not so festively inclined, aside from the big high street brands), and the island just doesn’t have an abundance of novelty stores – you know, the ones that are ideal for accessibly priced stocking fillers. That’s not to say we don’t have amazing boutiques and concept stores – we do, it’s just that they are admittedly quite pricey, and when you have a list as long as your arm for people to buy for, sometimes you’ve got to be a little budget conscious.

After a week spent traipsing the streets of Ibiza in search of the perfect gifts (finding some, but not all), I decided to turn my thoughts to the wonders of the internet. After all, with plenty of time to spare and almost anything you can ever dream of right at your fingertips, I figured I could win at Christmas this year. That is, until I realised that even online shopping in the first week of December doesn’t guarantee your gifts will arrive in time for the big day. Such is postal life on a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean… sadly things don’t arrive overnight, or whenever they say they will (sometimes four-day express postage has been known take up to 17 days in the middle of the year, not even factoring in extra time to allow for Christmas). Opting for couriers doesn’t make it easier either – nine times out of ten, whether you live in the campo or in the pedestrianised part of Dalt Vila like I do, they ‘can’t find your address’ or ‘tried to make your delivery but no one was home’ (even though you know full well you were home all day). Then you’ve got to do your best to find their warehouses (which seem to always be closed whenever I have time to pass by – namely lunch time or weekends) to go and pick up the parcel yourself, thus defeating the purpose of door-to-door delivery. Blame dodgy GPS, blame a bad work ethic or just blame no one and accept it – it is what it is. The longer you live here, the more you get used to allowing time for these things. Patience, as they say is a virtue. Although when it comes to Christmas shopping, one’s patience can wear thin quite quickly.

So, having given up on island and internet shopping, my last chance was a visit to a big city – which I just so happened to have planned for my vacation this week anyway (cue the feeling of being chuffed with myself). There I was, in the land of the free, the home of the brave, and perhaps most importantly, the undisputed global capital of consumerism, the United States of America, with all the world’s retailers right on my doorstep, ready to tick all the boxes that I needed to be the best gift giver-er of all time this Christmas. And then the strangest thing happened. There I was, on a high street to beat all high streets, surrounded by tinsel and sparkle with lovely Christmas songs floating across the airwaves, when I felt totally and utterly overwhelmed by all the choices before me. All of a sudden, shops filled with quirky gift cards and eclectic joke presents seemed a bit forced and fake. There were far too many people jostling with one another to be at the front of the railing or queue. Row upon row upon row of novelty socks – with anything and everything you can think of, from the Mona Lisa to spicy chilli sauce bottles, cats of all descriptions and of course, a million varieties of Santa Claus imagery – just seemed to totally ridiculous to me. Why on earth does anyone need a 200-square metre retail storefront dedicated to socks? And (right next door) why do festively wrapped boxes of chocolate (or saltwater taffy or flavoured popcorn or the like) need to cost three times the regular retail value? Christmas seems more like a competitive sport over there.

Something was shifting inside me. For my entire adult life, I had always happily been swayed by advertising campaigns. I was addicted to things you’d buy just ‘for the sake of it’ but didn’t need. It seems living on our little island for more than a decade has had more of a profound effect on my shopping habits than I’d ever realised. While I still had the desire to shop for gifts for my loved ones, I decided I’d much prefer to buy gifts with a purpose. To carefully shop with each person in mind rather than to grab loads of little bitsy things simply to beef up the volume of a Santa sack or gift bag. Now I’m dreaming of a conscious Christmas… with no need for armloads of dozens of unneeded plastic bags. And perhaps even less wrapping paper and ribbon. I’m heading back to Ibiza, pronto, where I can take my beloved traditional Ibicenco shopping basket out with me (in order to say no to plastic) to re-scour those shops I previously dismissed in the thick of my Christmas shopping conundrum with my new Christmas mind set in place. What better present to give your friends and family than the gift of Ibiza anyway? The bounty from the white isle is plentiful – handmade woven baskets, hats and espadrilles, luxurious leather goods, one-of-a-kind fashion creations, beautiful and meaningful jewellery, beauty products made from Mediterranean ingredients sourced here on the island and of course, the best ‘build your own hamper’ style ingredients in the world (think Hierbas, gin, craft beer, local wines, fresh teas, artisanal coffee, chocolate, jamon, locally made cheeses and so much more edible goodness! On that note, I think I’ll make a hamper for myself too!). I should have paid more attention to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she said ‘If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard’. Because as I said before… what better excuse is there than Christmas to go shopping in Ibiza, especially if it means you get to spend hour upon hour searching your beloved island for heartfelt gifts and can support local businesses and brands in the process? It’s all about the spirit of giving…

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Miss W’s blog: Christmas dinner – Ibiza style

Miss W’s blog: Christmas dinner – Ibiza style

The Christmas period is without a doubt one of the most wonderful times of the year, no matter where in the world you may be spending it – but I have to say, here in Ibiza it is particularly magical (though I am biased). And to many of us, Christmas dinner is definitely one of the highlights of the whole occasion (along with presents, obvs). But when you’re away from home, as many expats and travellers are during the festive season, all of a sudden the options are endless when the time comes to decide what you want to do for Christmas dinner. You’re not limited to family traditions or obligations; suddenly, the choice is yours. Here in Ibiza, there are a multitude of options for those who find themselves seeking a Balearic Christmas experience. Having tried a multitude of Christmas dinners in Ibiza over the years, I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of my favourites with you, in case you’re in need of inspiration.

A luxe, traditional style lunch in one of Ibiza’s best restaurants fuses the best of both worlds for me. You get to tuck into a classic Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, with all the indulgences of eating out – great service, lovely views, a beautiful setting and best of all, you don’t ever have to help with the washing up! You can also usually choose your favourite type of meat, be it a traditional turkey, a honey glazed ham or delicious roast beef or pork, which is great for picky eaters like me, and there’s always an option for the vegetarian in your group too, rather than just lumping them with extra roast veggies. There’s always a waiter at hand ready to top up your wine glass when you need it (much more appealing than those knowing glances you get from family when you’re topping yourself up for the fifth time) and the booze never dries up, which means you don’t have to switch to icky old port when you’ve run out of Baileys. There are many great restaurants open on Christmas day in Ibiza in 2016, serving up traditional dinners to those without a home to go to, or this who simply prefer to be pampered rather than hot, flustered and sweaty in the kitchen! Visit the White Ibiza Christmas Calendar to check out the best selection of island eateries open for Christmas – as it’s a set menu, reservations are almost always recommended to ensure the chef orders enough produce to feed the troops come Christmas day.

Another wonderful way to do Christmas dinner in Ibiza is DIY. Gather a group of your best island friends – you can keep it as intimate or make it as grand as you like- and make a day of it. This option usually works well if you have access to an amazing villa with a professional grade kitchen – the more space, pots and pans the better. I say this from experience, having twice had hilarious attempts at preparing Christmas dinner in an ancient apartment and ramshackle home – the first which saw the oven run out of gas once all four hobs and the stove had been alight for more than an hour (with nowhere open to buy a replacement gas bottle on Christmas day of course), and the second which saw the power cut out about once every 15 minutes when more than two appliances were on the go in the kitchen. While the dinners were definitely not the best quality I have ever eaten, I have to say the overall experiences were simply hilarious –  which could have been due to the copious amounts of mulled wine we were drinking to cope with the drama. Anyway, I digress. Cooking your own Christmas dinner is a bit of a rite of passage for those who are spending their first year away from the family or their homeland and the best thing about it is you can do everything your own way! This is also a great way to do Christmas for families and friends from abroad who wish to have their traditional Christmas experience minus the cold weather and grey climes of the rest of Europe. My advice here is to be prepared. Unlike the UK, the US, Australia, Germany, France and the like (oh, just about anywhere that has great supermarkets), adopting for Christmas lunch or dinner ingredients in Ibiza requires  serious plan of action. There is no one-stop shop for everything you need. You will be able to find everything you need eventually, but foresight is important. You’ll need to order your cuts of meat or turkey especially from a butcher a minimum of a week in advance (and sometimes even earlier), you’ll probably need to visit at least one greengrocer and one supermarket for your fresh produce and herbs, as they never all have everything in one place, specialty items will most likely be found in the Brit or German supermarkets and delis, while baking goods are the hardest to come by, usually requiring a trip to specialty cake shops, the aforementioned Brit and German hotspots plus a few of the roadside supermarkets or even an order from Amazon. Table decorations and Christmas decor can be found in all the best homeware stores, but usually sells out long before the big day, so you’ll need to be stocking up in advance. That’s life on an island for you, but it makes the end results even more satisfying.

Las but definitely not least, is what I like to call the unconventional Christmas. After all, just because it’s Christmas day doesn’t mean you have to eat turkey or drink mulled wine. Why not get into the Spanish spirit and tuck into fresh seafood, paella or grilled meats on the beach on Christmas Day? Our friends in the southern hemisphere have been doing it for years and when the sun is shining in Ibiza, the beach always beckons. As with the above example of dining in a restaurant on Christmas day, you get all the goodness of great service, professionally prepared cuisine and unlimited vino and you can order a la carte to suit your tastes. The Spanish tradition is to celebrate with a feast at home on Christmas Eve, so many of the best Spanish restaurants on the island are open on Christmas day, serving up the best Mediterranean fare you could dream to indulge in. Our White Ibiza Christmas Calendar also showcases our favourite local restaurants for those looking to explore new tastes and cuisines for Christmas – we’re spoilt for choice! Photography by Ana Lui. Styling by Cristina Di Giovanna of Le Jour du Oui. Decor courtesy of CoCoq Ibiza and La Galeria Elefante – view more here.  

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Ibiza Christmas shopping dilemmas

When it comes to work, I’m a super organised person. Lists, deadlines, time tracking, meticulously labelled files, almost photographic memory, always on time – if it’s nerdy, I’m on it. But when it comes to my personal life, I am the polar opposite. I procrastinate like it’s an Olympic sport, I forget things, I’m messy and always late. So you can imagine when it comes to Christmas shopping, I am a last minute girl – we’re talking a 6pm on Christmas Eve type retail hurricane. But this year, thanks to the construction work in Ibiza town causing many of my favourite gift shops to shut down for the winter season, I need to plan way ahead. Of course, there are plenty of other boutiques, shops and concept stores across the island – I just need to make a plan of attack to get to them in good time. I’ve decided if I think of the task like work, it should be easier to execute.

The following is my Christmas shopping timeline and I think I can easily nail it in just one day. First stop: IBZCODE, on the road from Ibiza to Santa Eulalia. This is the one-stop shop for girlfriend gifts, whether you’re looking for a small trinket, unique jewellery, gorgeous scarves, luxe leather accessories and so much more. A pit stop here should cover off most of the ladies in your life – my biggest problem here is that I tend to have a habit of ‘one for you, one for me’. Tough break. Take two: CoCoq Ibiza, further up the same road, just after the turn off to Santa Gertrudis. This place is full of absolutely everything – from the littlest stocking fillers to huge statement gifts like art, décor and high fashion. For me, it’s a great stop to buy thoughtful gifts for your colleagues and clients – think coffee table books (in most languages), candles, quirky wall signs and more.

Third time lucky: Double back and turn down the main road to Santa Gertrudis and make a pit stop at my absolute favourite shop in Ibiza, La Galeria Elefante. I like to think of this little finca as a whimsical rabbit hole – a maze of rooms showcasing wonders from all around the world, suitable for all ages and tastes. IT’s a fab place to pick up one-of-a-kind gifts for family members, whether it’s a cashmere scarf for mum or a framed dragonfly for dad. Jewellery, candles, fragrances, homewares, art… there is absolutely no end to the Christmas shopping inspiration here. Speaking of the big day, it’s also the best place for Christmas cards and decorations – one for them, one for me… again! Stop number four is just a little further down the road, where you’ll spot a field full of fake cows. This is your sign to turn right and head into the wondrous, cavernous showroom of Sluiz. If you’ve got a ‘secret santa’ gift to buy, this would be the place as it’s chock-full of quirky, funny little gifts, alongside some incredibly stylish and amazing pieces, be it fashion or homewares. But you can’t go wrong with a stop here – plus, they ave a café for sustenance, because right about now, I know I’m going to be feeling hungry (my tip: try the fish and chips – it’s worth writing home about!).

The last stop in this neck of the woods is found within the village of Santa Gertrudis. Es Cucons la Tienda is my favourite place to buy presents for the littlest people in my life, as they have a super cool room full of kid’s games, toys, arts, crafts, stickers, musical instruments and more. There are also rooms full of beautiful accessories for men and women and it’s almost impossible to leave without buying something for your home! My final pitstop is actually back home here in Ibiza town, which is why I leave it until last – maybe I can still get that thrill of a last minute shopping buzz on Christmas Eve after all! reVOLVER is a treasure trove of stylish, well-thought out gifts, especially for the man in your life. Fragrances, wallets, sunglasses, footwear and of course, clothing – if you can’t find a gift in here then perhaps it’s time you just stopped shopping.

I realise a lot of you may at this stage be thinking, but why doesn’t she just shop online? After all, I spend most of my life working in the online world so on paper (or in a Microsoft Word document to be more precise) it makes sense. But, dear readers, the fact is I live on an island. And the postal service here is just about as reliable as a coconut wireless. Recently I paid a premium for five-day express delivery (we’re talking an envelope here too, not a parcel). It arrived 18 days later. I ordered another product for myself – this time with five-to-seven day delivery – and 22 days later, the tracking number shows the product is still yet to depart the UK. A pair of yoga pants coming from Germany have been allegedly sitting in the Madrid sorting office for three weeks now. And then when the products do eventually arrive in Ibiza, the couriers and postal delivery workers don’t ever bring them direct to your door. They just leave a slip saying ‘we tried to deliver but you weren’t home’, which is always a blatant lie, as I work from home and am always here, all day, every day! Sigh. Relying on last minute online gifts is just not an option here in Ibiza – but I’m not complaining. A dodgy delayed postal service is a small price to pay for 300 days of sunshine per year and the opportunity to call this island home. Now – less blogging, more shopping!

Is Ibiza the town that stole Christmas?

If you’ve visited Ibiza town of late, you’ll have noticed a couple of huge gaping holes where Vara de Rey and Plaza del Parque used to be. By day, the soundtrack is one of jackhammers, trucks, hammers and workman whistling and shouting. By night, it’s a gloomy ghost town atmosphere full of eerie emptiness, as the normally busy streets are all closed off with green scaffolding and the cafes and bars have all shut up shop for the winter due to the renovations. Which leads to one big question. What’s going to happen to Christmas in Ibiza this year? Vara de Rey is normally the epicentre of festive fun, with its quaint Christmas market, kids fun fair and the big tree presiding over the square, while Plaza del Parque is a buzzing social hotspot – the place for pre-party get togethers, post-market mulled wine or hot chocolate and the legendary oyster and champagne bar at Hostal Parque. With all the renovations, reformations, digging, construction, mess and rubble – is Ibiza the town that stole Christmas?

Of course not! The party capital of the world wouldn’t let a little thing like town planning get in the way of having a good time, and good news is the Christmas festivities have simply been moved just a 10-minute walk away to the square of Plaza Antoni Albert i Nieto – that’s the big pedestrianised block up near the disused bus stop and Ayuntamiento for those who don’t know. The lights on the big tree will officially be switched on at 6.30pm on Thursday December 1, 2016 (tomorrow – woo hoo!) and the market stalls (which range from artisanal goodies, hippy chic homewares, fashion and jewellery to food and drink, not to mention festive decorations!) will be open for some serious retail therapy business. The square is surrounded by cute cafes, bars and restaurants and looks set to step in for the Plaza del Parque crew by offering locals a place to hang out over the winter months, complete with big outdoor heaters and fab food and drink offerings. For those with kids in tow, the new location makes it easy to walk between the neon-blazed fun fair (behind the National Police Station and the Diario de Ibiza building) and the Christmas markets and tree, meaning it’s possible to do both activities in one night! Bad news for me is, now it’s not within a 200-metre walk of my front door, I won’t be able to eat endless Nutella crepes or gorge on the 1€ cheese and wine combinations every night unless I make the effort to walk a little further (on second thoughts, perhaps that’s good news for my figure!).

But the market, fun fair and tree are not all there is to get excited about. The biggest, best and most awesome news about Christmas in Ibiza in 2016 (to me, anyway!) is the launch of Ice Park Ibiza in Plaza Reina Sofia. It’s a temporary, intimate ice skating rink set up right below the fortress walls of Dalt Vila, under cover of some protective white tents (after all – we’re not in New York’s Central Park – ice would melt in our Mediterranean climate if we had it in the open air). This is my Ibiza winter dream come true – after attending a truly disastrous version of an ice skating rink in Ibiza a few years back (where slabs of white plastic-like material were placed on the ground as fake ice), I have been dreaming that this exact part of town could be transformed into a ice capades-like winter wonderland, and now it has! It’s just a two minute walk from my house (and much better for me than Nutella crepes), and it’s only 5€ for a 25-minute skating session, so I expect to be an Olympic level figure skater by January 8, when the rink shuts up shop for the season. I have my sparkly dress, ear muffs and woolly mittens at the ready for tomorrow night’s opening event. Well, while it’s not technically an ‘opening party’, I say why not dress the part anyway? Ibiza on ice!